Former referee Bruno Marić clarifies controversial penalty retake in Croatia vs. England match

Croatia suffered a 2-4 defeat against England in their opening World Cup match, despite a spirited comeback in the first half. England took an early lead through a Harry Kane penalty in the 12th minute, but Croatia equalized via Martin Baturina in the 36th minute. Kane restored England's advantage just before halftime, only for Petar Musa to level the score at 2-2 in first-half stoppage time.

The decisive moment came early in the second half when Jude Bellingham put England ahead in the 47th minute. Marcus Rashford sealed the victory for England in the 85th minute. The match also featured a controversial retake of England's first penalty.

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Turpin was in line with his reputation, indeed all the decisions on the field were very good.

Kane's initial penalty was saved by Croatian goalkeeper Dominik Livaković. However, VAR intervened, and referee Clement Turpin ordered a retake because Livaković had left his goal line prematurely. Former Croatian referee Bruno Marić addressed the incident on HRT, stating that Turpin's decisions were consistent with his reputation and that the VAR call was correct.

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The foul for the penalty does not need special analysis. What caused fan interest was the annulment of the penalty. Technology immediately informs the referee in the VAR room that a violation of the goal line occurred during the penalty kick. He just checked the cameras available to him and informed the main referee. This is a factual decision; it is not the decision of the on-field referee, but of the VAR room.

"The foul for the penalty does not need special analysis. What caused fan interest was the annulment of the penalty," Marić said. "Technology immediately informs the referee in the VAR room that a violation of the goal line occurred during the penalty kick. He just checked the cameras available to him and informed the main referee. This is a factual decision; it is not the decision of the on-field referee, but of the VAR room."

Marić suggested that improved communication to viewers could have lessened the confusion surrounding the VAR decision. "We would like that decision to have been shown immediately and transparently, rather than having to wait some time to be sure of the VAR room's decision," he added.

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We would like that decision to have been shown immediately and transparently, rather than having to wait some time to be sure of the VAR room's decision.