All Whites coach Danny Hay says the officials "weren't up to standard" in his side's cruel 1-0 defeat by Costa Rica in Doha on Wednesday.
The All Whites went down despite playing a superb game against the much-higher ranked Central Americans.
Costa Rica went up 1-0 after the All Whites were caught napping by Joel Campbell in the third minute but after that, all the action happened at the other end as the Kiwis looked to find an equaliser against an extremely defensive formation.
The narrow loss to Costa Rica has left a sour taste with supporters who felt frustrated by some key refereeing calls. (Source: 1News)
Then, in the 39th minute Wood looked to have done just that as he found the back of the net off a Matt Garbett cross.
Danny Hay wasn’t happy with the officials after NZ’s heart-breaking loss to Costa Rica in their World Cup playoff. (Source: 1News)
However after the referee had initially awarded the goal, VAR was brought in to check a potential foul between Garbett and his defender in the build up to the play after the two collided chasing the loose ball.
In the end, VAR ruled there was enough contact from Garbett to overrule the goal and with it scratched Wood's equaliser.
Speaking to 1News after the match, having seen multiple replays, Hay struggled to understand why the goal didn't stand.
"We’ve seen some of decisions from multiple angles, and I think it’s pretty clear some of the officiating wasn’t up to standard today. Really quite disappointing. I can’t fault the players, they were incredible."
Going into the match, he said New Zealand was concerned that unlike Australia's match against Peru the day before, their officials were less experienced on football's biggest stages.
"FIFA in their wisdom, or lack of wisdom, have gone and provided us with officials that weren’t up to it."
Campbell's early goal was a blow, but New Zealand refused to let their heads drop, and arguably had the better attacking chances for the rest of the match.
"I thought their reaction was incredibly positive. Dominated the game, created all the chances, just needed to find a little bit of quality in the final third," Hay said of his players.
The denied goalscorer Wood said shortly after the match it was a tough pill to swallow.
"To be honest with you, we were the dominant side. Possession stats will tell you, shooting stats will tell you but ultimately the fine margins and little things went their way and some decisions went against us that I think were very harsh," Wood said.
The Kiwis are proud of their efforts on the pitch but were left frustrated by the officials in their 1-0 defeat by Costa Rica in Dubai. (Source: 1News)
"It's extremely frustrating. That's what VAR was brought in here to do - be a bit more clearer.
"Obviously, I'll have to look back at it but the refs need to trust their instincts some of the time and it's unfortunate that they don't but that's life I guess."
VAR also had a crucial role in Kosta Barbarouses' initial yellow card getting elevated to a red for dangerous contact.
Garbett, the player at the centre of the no-goal controversy, was bemused by the decision.
"There's no chance it was a foul, I've gone down because he's gone over me," he told 1News.
"As I'm going down, my arm's already tangled around his leg, it's not like I pulled him down. Benefit of doubt should go to us because the referee didn't call it."
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