Cucurella, Ballon d’Or hopeful, triggers Perisic's red card in Croatia

Marc Cucurella, Spanish World Cup champion and Ballon d’Or candidate, spoiled the match between La Roja and the Croatian national team on Tuesday evening. By diving, he caused the dismissal of Ivan Perisic after a second yellow card, ruining the game.

A Real Madrid defender… openly demanded a sanction against Perisic, believing Cucurella's behaviour deserved punishment. This request heightened the controversy surrounding the incident.

Croatian manager's reaction

The Croatians, outraged, saw Slaven Bilić express his anger: “Who wouldn’t be angry at Cucurella if he doesn’t play for his team?” Bilić recalled that the defender had already caused the dismissal of Laurent Blanc during the 1998 World Cup semi‑final.

Luka Modrić added, visibly upset: “What am I supposed to comment on? Cucurella positions himself… if Perisic hadn’t been sent off, we probably wouldn’t have lost. I’d rather not say what I told Cucurella.”