Ibrahimovic furious about VAR: "Iran's dream taken away. You cannot gamble behind the screen"

Zlatan Ibrahimovic, currently active as a commentator for FOX Sports during the 2026 World Cup, has spoken out about the VAR decision to disallow Iran's Shoja Khalilzadeh's goal in the final minutes of the match against Egypt. This goal could have given Iran victory and qualification for the round of 16 as second in the group, behind Belgium. Ibrahimovic was particularly critical of the VAR system: "This is exactly why people are losing confidence in VAR. We were told the system was set up to eliminate obvious mistakes, but it only generates more controversy on football's biggest stage. This is simply unacceptable," the Milan director said.

He added: "I've watched the replays over and over again and I still don't understand how they could call the offside. When you cancel a goal that could decide a country's future in the World Cup, you have to be sure it's 100% correct, not guessing from a room behind a screen. Millions of Iranians celebrated what they thought was a historic moment, only to see a group of referees disallow it in seconds. They don't just have a goal denounced; they stole the dream of a nation.”

---

Related Articles

1. Cherki in campo nel 4-1 della Francia sulla Norvegia, tripletta per Dembélé
2. Tuchel difende le sue scelte sugli esterni dopo l'infortunio di James