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SARANSK, Russia – Iranian coach Carlos Queiroz reacted angrily after a 1-1 draw against Portugal, which on Monday condemned his team to the elimination of the World Cup, saying that they deserved to win.
The Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo should have been deported for what he termed "elbow" against Morteza Pouraliganji, and Iran should have received at least one more penalty.
Queiroz also implicitly criticized the arbitration and renewed its attacks against the VAR system.
"Only one winner could come out in this game and it should have been Iran," Queiroz told reporters. "We deserved to win, I'm a bad loser, I'm proud but frustrated."
The victory over Portugal in the last Group B game would have allowed Iran to qualify for the round of 16 and the underdogs played with a huge heart in a match filled with drama.
After a superb strike from Ricardo Quaresma that allowed Portugal to tie the score at halftime, Iran replied and Karim Ansarifard opened the scoring. But with Spain and Morocco shooting 2-2 in the other Group B match, this was not enough.
Queiroz was outraged by an incident in the 80th minute when Ronaldo sent Pouraliganji to the ground. The referee consulted the VAR to see if it was a red card, and then decided to give a yellow to the Portuguese captain.
"An elbow is a red card, the rules do not say if it's Ronaldo or Messi, it's a red card, the decisions should be clear," said Queiroz.
In a hurry to know he thought the referees were treating the stars like Ronaldo indulgently, he said, "You have to ask them.
"I'm not in a good mood, as you can see, there would have been at least one more penalty against Portugal, at least one.
"Five guys sit upstairs and they do not see an elbow, give me a break."
When asked about what he thought of arbitration, Mr. Queiroz said: "I have a clear opinion, but I have to measure my words, I have to be careful."
Queiroz, who also coached Portugal and South Africa to the World Cups, again disdained the VAR system, which was used to award a questionable punishment to Portugal.
In the event, Iranian goalkeeper Ali Beiranvand saved Ronaldo 's effort.
"The VAR is not good, there are a lot of complaints, you have to know who is doing the game, who is making the decisions." he said.
"VAR leaves no room for human error before we accept human errors in the game."
Queiroz, who said he would be stepping down after six years at the helm after the tournament, paid a heartfelt tribute to his players, his team and the Iranian fans who massively showed up in Russia.
"We learned a lot here, we won the respect of people," he said. "Iranian players are very brave, I try to get the spirit of the Portuguese bulls, how they go in the ring and dominate the animal with courage."
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