If you hadn’t made those substitutions, they wouldn’t have added the time on, you plank

Zlatko Dalic took aim at the “nonsense” decision to add eight minutes of time to Croatia’s match against Italy, having seen Mattia Zaccagni score with the very last action to leave his side all but out of the European Championship

Zaccagni’s goal followed an opener by Luka Modric that seemed to have given Croatia second place. But Italy dramatically leapfrogged them and Dalic, who has taken Croatia to second- and third-placed finishes at the past two World Cup tournaments, knows two points are unlikely to send them to the last 16. He suggested the extended period of added time given*by the refe*ree, Danny *Makkelie, was a symbol of the authorities’ *attitude to a nation that punches above its*weight.
“We are a small country,” he said. “No one gave us so much thought but you can’t have eight minutes, it is a nonsense. I don’t want to cause a fuss about what’s gone on but *Croatia needs to be respected, recognised and acknowledged. Unfortunately we have to stand up for ourselves. I want to thank the lads for their commitment and effort.
“[The outcome] really hurts. It still hurts and will hurt over the coming days and months. It’s not easy, but when we look in general there are some days when it is your day some it is not, occasionally you lose. That is football