Croatia boss Dalic hints at Euro 2024 ‘FIX’ scandal as he claims ref for Italy heartbreak ‘not designated by chance’
CROATIA boss Zlatko Dalic angrily accused Uefa of a lack of “respect” after their dramatic draw to Italy in Leipzig.
The Croats were on the verge of snatching a last 16 spot from the Italians in Group B thanks to Luka Modric’s 55th minute strike – moments after missing a penalty.
However, with 41 seconds remaining of EIGHT minutes added on, Mattia Zaccagni curled in a last-gasp beauty to all but knock Dalic’s men out of the Euros.
Italy will now play Switzerland in the knock-out stages on June 29, while Croatia – on two points – are unlikely to squeeze through as a ranked third-place side.
And Dalic raged: “The referee tore us apart the whole match, he wasn’t sent to that match by chance.
“I don’t know where the referee found those eight minutes of stoppage time. I was talking about Uefa and Fifa, you didn’t support me in that.
“But that’s not the reason, I want to say it no matter how much some people criticise me, it’s a fact. I can’t escape the impression that this is so.
“There were six substitutions, so three minutes maximum. And it was VAR minutes, so four minutes maximum, he put eight.”
He continued: “We are a small country. Whether it is Uefa or Fifa, no one gives us too much thought. You cannot have eight minutes added time. It is a nonsense.
“There weren’t too many breaks or fouls to justify that. Croatia needs to be respected and recognised because once again we played for almost three hours.
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“Were it France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, that wouldn’t happen. We had a similar experience at the Qatar World Cup.”
Modric – who became the oldest ever scorer at a Euros at 38 and 289 days – was distraught at the full-time whistle, admitting it was one of the toughest results of his career on his 178th international appearance.
Croatia can only have themselves to blame after a woeful group stage run, losing 3-0 to Spain before conceding a late leveller to draw 2-2 with Albania.
And Dalic – who could now lose his job after leading Croatia to a World Cup final and semi-final since taking charge in 2017 – added: “It really hurts.
“It still hurts and it will over the coming days and months. It’s not easy. But when we look at the situation there are some days when it’s your day and just not your day.
“We need to stick together in defeat with humility and keep our heads high. I hold my hands up, I’m the one to blame if we haven’t made it through. I just want to thank my players.”