Was Croatia's equalizer valid?

The goal was immediately deemed valid, but the English press and England fans argued that referee Cuneyt Cakir made a mistake by not awarding a free kick for Perisic's high kick on Kyle Walker, who was preparing to head the ball inside the penalty area.

Perisic's goal came from a high kick.

On social media, many opinions asserted that this was indeed a wrong decision by the referee: "Perisic's high kick would be a foul anywhere on the pitch. England are heading towards their end because of World Cup referee mistakes."

Another account analyzed the situation in more detail: "Perisic's shot would have been dangerous for Walker's head if he had been a defender clearing the ball. Boots with studs can cause serious injury. This is truly a consequence of unfair rule application."

Historically, Turkish referees have had quite a few "bitter encounters" with English referees. In the 2013 Champions League match against Real Madrid, it was Cakir who angrily showed Nani of Manchester United a red card, much to Sir Alex Ferguson's anger. Notably, the Red Devils midfielder was sent off for a high tackle on Alvaro Arbeloa.

Previously, this same referee had sent off John Terry in the Champions League semi-final against Barcelona, ​​preventing the captain from appearing with Chelsea in the historic final of the European competition.

Throughout the match, the referee also overlooked fouls committed by Dejan Lovren against Raheem Sterling. Paul Walker was fouled by two Croatian players, but he himself received a yellow card for reacting angrily to the referee.

For the reasons above, the English have grounds to question why referee Cakir not only failed to penalize Perisic for kicking Walker's leg too high, but also awarded the goal to Croatia, resulting in the match ending 1-1 after 90 minutes and going into extra time.

Ultimately, Mandzukic's goal ended England's dream of winning the gold trophy, and also secured Croatia's first-ever appearance in a World Cup final.