VAR, Rodri's handball, missing luck: Rudi Garcia airs his grievances after elimination
After Belgium's 2-1 quarter-final defeat to Spain at the 2026 World Cup, coach Rudi Garcia criticized VAR's failure to review a Rodri handball inside the box, saying luck was not on his team's side.
Spain
Belgium- 90'Yellow card: Axel Witsel (Belgium)
- 90'Yellow card: Aymeric Laporte (Spain)
- 90'Final score: Spain 2 - 1 Belgium
- 88'⚽ Goal for Spain (Mikel Merino)
- 86'Substitution: ↑ Mikel Merino / ↓ Dani Olmo. (Spain)
- 86'Substitution: ↑ Alexis Saelemaekers / ↓ Kevin De Bruyne. (Belgium)
- 85'Yellow card: Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium)
- 79'Substitution: ↑ Nico Williams / ↓ Mikel Oyarzabal. (Spain)
- 71'Substitution: ↑ Senne Lammens / ↓ Thibaut Courtois because of an injury. (Belgium)
- 61'Substitution: ↑ Joaquin Seys / ↓ Maxim De Cuyper. (Belgium)
- 60'Substitution: ↑ Axel Witsel / ↓ Leandro Trossard. (Belgium)
- 60'Substitution: ↑ Romelu Lukaku / ↓ Hans Vanaken. (Belgium)
- 55'Substitution: ↑ Pedri / ↓ Fabián Ruiz. (Spain)
- 55'Substitution: ↑ Ferran Torres / ↓ Álex Baena. (Spain)
- 45'Second half begins
- 45'Half-time
- 45'Half-time
- 43'Yellow card: Pau Cubarsí (Spain)
- 41'⚽ Goal for Belgium (Charles De Ketelaere)
- 30'⚽ Goal for Spain (Fabián Ruiz)
- 0'Kick-off
- 0'Kick-off
Belgium coach Rudi Garcia voiced his frustration with the officiating after his side's 2-1 quarter-final defeat to Spain at the 2026 World Cup, singling out a handball by Spanish midfielder Rodri that was neither given nor reviewed by VAR.
Reacting to the decision, Garcia asked: "Why didn't VAR intervene on Rodri's handball? Nothing went our way," adding: "We've had a lot of bad luck, but we also gave away too many gifts."
In detail, the ball struck Rodri's arm after suddenly deflecting off the head of Spanish defender Aymeric Laporte, which makes the incident non-punishable under IFAB rules, which exclude cases where the ball rebounds off a teammate's body or head before touching a player's hand.
Garcia also added afterwards: "Big matches are decided by details. Against a team of this level, you can't give any gifts or make any mistakes. Unfortunately, that's what got us eliminated" — a thinly veiled reference to the error that preceded Mikel Merino's decisive 88th-minute goal.
With this defeat, Belgium exit the 2026 World Cup at the quarter-final stage, while Spain will face France in the semi-final on July 14.
