World Cup briefing: Saudi Arabia squad land safely after plane engine catches fire

Croatia forward Nikola Kalinic is sent home
and Brazil question use of VAR

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Saudi Arabia, who play Uruguay tomorrow in World Cup group A,
were flying to Rostov-on-Don when an engine caught fire mid-flight,
Sky Sports reports. 

Saudi player Hatan Bahbir said on Twitter that the
squad had “arrived safely” and were “all fine”. Bahbir added: “It
was a simple malfunction.” 

SAFF also tweeted: “The Saudi Arabian Football Federation
would like to reassure everyone that all the Saudi national team
players are safe after a technical failure in one of the aeroplane
engines that has just landed in Rostov-on-Don airport, and now
they’re heading to their residence safely.”

Saudi Arabia’s match against Uruguay starts at 4pm
tomorrow. They lost their opening group fixture 5-0 against host
nation Russia.

Kalinic sent home by Croatia

Nikola Kalinic has been sent home by Croatia after he
refused to come on as a substitute during the 2-0 group D victory
against Nigeria on Saturday.

The Guardian reports that the striker had
claimed he was not fit to play. Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic
confirmed Kalinic had left the squad. 

Dalic said: “During the Nigeria encounter, Kalinic was
warming up and was supposed to come on in the second half. However,
he then stated he wasn’t ready to come on due to a back issue. The
same thing happened during the Brazil friendly in England, as well
as before the practice session on Sunday.

“I have calmly accepted that, and since I need my players
fit and ready to play, I have made this decision.”

Brazil question VAR 

The Brazilian Football Confederation (BFC) has asked Fifa
to clarify how the video assistant referee (VAR) was used during
the 1-1 draw with Switzerland on Sunday.

ESPN reports that Brazil are questioning if VAR
was used to check two second-half incidents: a push on defender
Miranda when Switzerland scored and a foul on Gabriel Jesus that
could have led to a penalty. 

A BFC statement said: “These two actions constitute clear
errors by the referee, which thus should form part of the
reviewable decisions that are analysed through VAR.”

ESPN says the confederation “wants to know whether the
plays were reviewed in any way”.