VAR is trying to kill the joy of this World Cup

VAR is killing the joy of this World Cup, or at least it's trying to. For the most part this World Cup has been awesome. From Messi scoring goals to the U.S. looking competent to the legions of fans coming to America and finding out how awesome this country is, there has been an abundance of joy that it exactly what sports is all about. Yes, scores matter and outcomes are the point, but in the end it's really about the spectacle and what that means to the fans. There may have been no greater moment of joy than when Croatia, seemingly left for dead in their knockout game against Portugal, scored in minute 13 of stoppage that had called for 10. The goal tied the game and sent their fans into an absolute pandemonium, Joško Gvardiol instantly becoming a national hero in a moment the entire country would never forget. It was improbable, it was impossible, it was a miracle for the checkered-clad Croatian fans and they erupted exactly as the should. It was impossible not to feel their joy, their elation, their passion, which is really what makes this tournament what it is. Almost an ALL-TIME stoppage time moment from Croatia with a late equalizer but it’s ruled offside 🤯 The beautiful game can sometimes be so cruel. pic.twitter.com/clDrRyjitu — FOX Sports (@FOXSports) July 3, 2026 And then it was all erased by a computer simulation that showed something the human eye couldn't detect — another player ever-so-slightly touching the ball with his head (hair), rendering Gvardiol offsides. Sadly, if this continues, this is what this World Cup is going to be remembered for. Yes there will be Messi's brilliance and the U.S. making a run, but tell that to the Croatians who are heading home because a computer chip in a ball picked up the slightest touch — literally a piece of hair touching the ball. Replay assist has, for the most part, been a net positive for sports. VAR overturns a goal on a handball? Great. Goal-line technology? Great. An obvious off-sides call? Great. But somewhere along the way it's jumped the shark, evolving from correcting mistakes humans can see to inventing things no one ever could perceive. Last week it was the Cubs’ Pete Crow Armstrong ridiculously getting called out in one of those plays at second where the hand slips off the bag for a millisecond. A few days ago Iran was sent home by a computer detecting a toe being offsides . And now Croatia is out because, according to FIFA, “IMU sensors housed within the Trionda ball are capable of determining any slight contact, displayed to viewers in the broadcast as a 'heartbeat graphic', and allowing officials an unprecedented level of data to make fast, accurate decisions.” According to the data provided by Connected Ball Technology housed within the @adidasfootball Trionda, the official match ball of the @FIFAWorldCup , it was proven that contact was made by Croatia's #20 Igor Matanović in the build up to the goal against Portugal, allowing the… pic.twitter.com/AyBz11N3wV — FIFA Media (@fifamedia) July 3, 2026 Sure, getting calls corrected in games that run at lightning speed is important and having the backstop of technology has been, for the most part, for the greater good, but what are we doing when we’re putting the interpretation of the rules in the hands of “Connected Ball Technology” that, by FIFA’s own admission, spits out a chart that looks like a “heartbeat graphic”? You don’t need to be a fútbol expert to get what the spirit of the competition is. It's connecting skills, seeing paths and finding ways to slip the ball past 11 opponents. Croatia did that only to be told by a computer four thousand miles away it didn’t count. Technically, FIFA didn't get the call wrong — that’s the point of the above X explanation. But that's almost the problem. When technology begins enforcing the rulebook beyond the limits of human perception, it stops serving the sport and starts serving itself. In this case, it got the call so precisely right that it made the moment feel wrong.