Portugal defender Jose Fonte labelled the use of VAR “unacceptable” after Iran were controversially awarded a late penalty in the final Group B in Saransk, which was converted to deny Portugal top spot in a 1-1 draw.
Deep in stoppage time in the Mordovia Arena, Portugal looked set to seal top spot in the group at Spain’s expense, with their rivals trailing to Morocco in Kaliningrad, but as Iago Aspas scored a late, VAR-assisted penalty to earn Spain a point, Iran won one of their own, to then deny Portugal two points, and demote them to a second-placed finish in a dramatic finale.
Southampton full-back Cedric had to be pulled away from Paraguayan referee Enrique Caceres at the final whistle, following Caceres’ decision to award the late penalty after consulting VAR.