What is 'Snicko'? World Cup VAR drama explained after Portugal vs Croatia chaos | OneFootball

Cricket-style technology used to rule out Josko Gvardiol’s last-gasp equaliser in dramatic last-32 thriller

Croatia crashed out of World Cup 2026 in dramatic fashion after their stoppage-time equaliser against Portugal was ruled out following a VAR review.

The 2018 finalists took the lead shortly after half-time in Thursday’s high-profile round-of-32 showdown in Toronto through Ivan Perisic, with Igor Matanovic then denied a second by an offside flag against team-mate Nikola Vlasic.

Cristiano Ronaldo also saw an effort chalked off for offside, with Rafael Leao striking the crossbar before Ronaldo did net his first-ever World Cup knockout stage goal from the penalty spot after VAR spotted a foul on Renato Veiga by Vlasic.

Petar Sucic became the latest player to be thwarted by the offside flag, with Ronaldo visibly unhappy at being substituted by Roberto Martinez before Goncalo Ramos later headed home in the 94th minute to give Portugal a late lead.

There was still much more drama to come, however, with Croatia denied a last-gasp equaliser in the 13th minute of stoppage time when ‘Snickometer’ technology helped to disallow Josko Gvardiol’s scrambled effort as Portugal teed up a massive last-16 showdown with neighbours Spain in Dallas on Monday.

There were poignant scenes after the full-time whistle at BMO Field, where Portugal paid emotional tribute to late former team-mate Diogo Jota ahead of the one-year anniversary of his death on Friday.

What is ‘Snicko’ and how is technology used at World Cup?

The ‘Snickometer’ technology uses a microchip that is suspended inside the match ball to detect the exact millisecond it is struck.

The sensors inside the Adidas ‘Trionda’ ball, which is being used at this World Cup, can detect the slightest contact and then relay that information to VAR.

It is similar to the edge-detection technology used in cricket to determine whether or not the ball has hit the bat.

During the dramatic conclusion to the Portugal vs Croatia game, VAR enlisted the help of the ‘Snickometer’ to determine if Croatian forward Matanovic had touched the ball with his head from Perisic’s cross, before it then hit Veiga, bounced off Mario Pasalic and was bundled home by Gvardiol.

It initially seemed as if Matanovic had missed his attempted flick-on, with replays appearing inconclusive, though the ‘Snicko’ spike on the ‘heartbeat graphic’ subsequently proved otherwise after Norwegian referee Espen Eskas watched the reviews led by VAR Jarred Gillett on the pitchside monitor.

Matanovic’s slight touch meant that Pasalic was in an offside position before Manchester City defender Gvardiol scored.

Veiga’s own deflection on the ball did not negate the offside as he did not play it deliberately.

FIFA later released a statement on the decision on social media, which read: “According to the data provided by Connected Ball Technology housed within the @adidasfootball Trionda, the official match ball of the @FIFAWorldCup, it was proven that contact was made by Croatia's #20 Igor Matanovic in the build up to the goal against Portugal, allowing the referee to correctly determine offside and disallow the goal.

What was Croatia’s reaction to VAR controversy?

Croatia’s fans were furious at the decision, with the game’s restart briefly delayed as they threw bottles and cans on to the pitch in protest.

Angry Croatia boss Zlatko Dalic said in his post-match press conference: “I will not comment much about it but I will say the refereeing was very bad.

"No fouls, no set-pieces on our side which should have been but that's no reason to talk about the defeat. It was very bad refereeing.

Clean up: Croatia’s angry fans hurled bottles and cans onto the pitch in protest, delaying the restart

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"You were able to see to what extent emotions had been killed and, altogether all these decisions take you back and actually take the joy out of football.

"VAR kills emotions, it kills everything within you. We have gone too far with VAR."

Portugal boss Martinez disagreed, saying: “It’s a shame one of the two teams had to lose.

“But there is no bad decision or lucky decision. It was a clear moment.

“The balls now have a chip and the sensor shows the ball was touched.”

Croatia midfielder Sucic demanded an explanation. He said in his post-match interview: “The referee said that he didn't see our side touch the ball. He said that he has a sensor in the ball and he decided like that. But I don't know what is this.

"It's really difficult to explain, but we expect somebody will explain to us because if what I saw is that Matanovic didn't touch the ball.

“So, for me, it's a regular goal, but I don't know. I say we need to look better and a few more times. And also, they told me my goal is in difficult situation.

"They need to check more because he decided in one second and the situation is difficult. I don't know. Today is like that. Luck is on their side."