Why was the Croatia penalty disallowed against Belgium in the FIFA World Cup ?

Modric stepped up to take the penalty against his club teammate Thibaut Courtois, but the spot-kick was eventually disallowed for offside.

Croatia’s Luka Modric, Andrej Kramaric and Belgium’s Thibaut Courtois react after Croatia’s penalty was overturned. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

Croatia’s penalty kick in the 15th minute was denied after a VAR, followed by an on screen check in its final FIFA World Cup group stage match against Belgium at the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium on Thursday.

In the 15th minute, an aerial pass by Luka Modric was headed by Dejan Lovren in the centre, but Alex Witsel fouled Andrej Kramaric in the follow-up as referee Anthony Taylor pointed to the spot.

Modric stepped up to take the penalty against his club teammate Thibaut Courtois, but Taylor decided to re-check the incident himself on the screen after a VAR check by the off-field team and finally ruled the spot kick out.

Why was the Croatia penalty disallowed ?

The penalty was disallowed because the referee Anthony Taylor saw a clear off-side before the penalty was given.

When Modric delivered the pass from the midfield, Lovren -- who received it -- had made a run in front of Belgian defender Jan Vertonghen and was, in fact, at an offside position.

Vertonghen (#5) saw Lovren make a run and the latter was ruled offside second before referee Anthony Taylor pointed to the spot. | Photo Credit: FIFA

This was clear from the semi-automatic offside technology, used for the first time in a FIFA World Cup, in Qatar. While it was Kramaric, who was initially in an offside, position, it was the former Liverpool defender’s run and then the header, that saw the penalty being ruled out.

At the end of the first half, Croatia and Belgium remain locked goalless, while Morocco has scored twice against Canada in the other Group F match, taking the Atlas Lions to the top of the group.

Croatia, after its draw against Morocco and a 3-1 victory over Canada sits second on the table, while Canada is already out of the competition.