Croatia was on the verge of reaching the round of 16 of Euro 2024. Referee Danny Makkelien awarded eight minutes of injury time, which many did not understand. In the eighth minute, Mattia Zaccagni scored the equalizer for the Italians. The Croatians understandably criticized the Dutch referee after the match.
“We didn’t deserve to concede that goal. I don’t know from where the referee took eight minutes of injury time“, an annoyed Luka Modric declared on Croatian television after the final whistle. There were no interruptions due to injuries in the second half: “Football can be cruel, and today we proved it“, Modric said with tears in his eyes.
Stanisic and Modric are annoyed: “They whistled everything at us”
The chances of reaching the round of 16 are now “minimal” for the Croatians: “Everything is simply going against us in this European Championship“, added Modric, who probably played his last competitive match for the Croatian national team.
Josip Stanisic also joined in criticizing the referee: “I don’t know what happened to this referee. He whistled everything at us, every contact was a foul. I don’t know if he saw yesterday’s game, that conceded eight minutes of added time. There was nothing during the match that could justify it“.
