Croatia have formally written to FIFA following their drama FIFA World Cup Round of 32 elimination against Portugal, accusing football’s governing body of allowing technology to overstep its role in a match-defining decision.The Croatian Football Federation (HNS) questioned the use of advanced technology during Portugal’s 2-1 win, with its complaint centered on the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) process and the use of data generated by the Trionda match ball.Controversy erupted deep into stoppage time when Joško Gvardiol appeared to score an equalizer that would have kept Croatia’s World Cup hopes alive. Although the goal was initially awarded, referee Espen Eskås overturned the decision after a lengthy VAR review.The offside call is not based on conventional television footage alone. However, FIFA’s ball technology detected what officials determined was a touch from Igor Matanović’s hair one minute before the ball reached Gvardiol, changing the offside calculation and resulting in the goal being disallowed.While television replays appeared to show the goal was legitimate, FIFA defended the decision by pointing to data collected by sensors embedded inside the official match ball.In a statement, FIFA said: “The IMU sensors inside the Trionda ball have the ability to determine any small contact, shown to the broadcast viewers as a ‘heartbeat graphic,’ and allow the officials an unprecedented level of data to make fast, accurate decisions.Croatia, however, believes the incident raises more concerns about the direction of football officiating. The federation argued that relying on invisible contact detected only through technology goes beyond the intended purpose of VAR and deviates from the principle of correcting only “clear and obvious” errors.The HNS complaint also challenges the decision to award Portugal a second half penalty, which: Cristiano Ronaldo converted in the 68th minute to level the scores.Speaking to RTL Danas, HNS spokesman Tomislav Pacak explained why the federation decided to raise the matter to FIFA President Gianni Infantino.“The Croatian Football Association sent a letter to FIFA President Gianni Infantino in which we express our deep disappointment and disapproval of the match in Portugal, not because of the referee’s decisions as such, because they can be discussed after each match, but because of the process itself that led to the decisions.“To begin with, we believe that the VAR protocol was completely wrongly used in the penalty kick for Portugal, and the referee should not have been called to review the footage. And above all, with Guardiola’s equalizer, Pasalic was given offside against the rules and spirit of football due to Matanovic’s out-of-play ball, because it was shown by the sensor.”Pacak emphasized that Croatia is not against technological innovation in football, but believes that it should not weaken the spirit of the game.“We believe that this is an abuse of technology, which we accept in football, but we believe that this application is not useful to FIFA, teams and football fans, and we know that our letter will not reduce the pain and disappointment of fans and players, but we believe that it is important to warn FIFA and ask for a detailed explanation of all decisions,” he concluded.FIFA currently stands by the officiating process and the technology used during the match, but Croatia’s formal complaint has intensified the debate on how far technological assistance should influence key decisions in football’s biggest tournament.