Lionel Messi addressed those criticizing Argentina, saying, “Nothing was handed to us.” The criticism arose from perceptions of favorable officiating and bias towards the reigning World Cup champions. He emphasized that their ability to overcome late-game deficits, like the recent semifinal victory over England, stems from their championship caliber.
Argentina secured a 2-1 comeback win against England on Wednesday, advancing to the World Cup final. The victory sparked celebrations in Buenos Aires and highlighted the persistence of a team on the verge of back-to-back titles. Argentina is set to face Spain in the final on Sunday.
Earlier, Argentina advanced by defeating Cape Verde and Switzerland in extra time, and achieved a 3-2 win over Egypt, overturning a 2-0 deficit with 11 minutes remaining. However, coaches of both Swiss and Egyptian teams criticized the refereeing. Egypt’s Hossam Hassan accused the soccer establishment of bias in favor of Messi and Argentina.
These remarks intensified criticism from fans who argue that Argentina benefited from a favorable FIFA bracket, alongside baseless social media claims of FIFA’s bias. “We’ve been the best over these past four years,” Messi said after defeating England. “We’ve proven that nothing was handed to us.”
The match against Switzerland involved a controversial incident. After the Swiss tied the game at 1-1, Leandro Paredes received a yellow card for a tackle on Breel Embolo, despite video evidence suggesting no contact. Embolo, having already received a yellow card, was expelled, leaving Switzerland with 10 players.
Swiss coach Murat Yakin expressed his disappointment, stating, “It’s very painful that we were eliminated that way, and my boys are the real heroes.” The Egyptian Football Association also expressed grievances about biased officiating during their loss to Argentina.
Despite these criticisms, Argentina’s team has not publicly addressed officiating complaints and social media allegations. Coach Lionel Scaloni has advised journalists to avoid social media speculation. After defeating England, Argentina’s champions defended their performance.
“Reaching two consecutive World Cup finals is rare, and we achieved it,” Messi noted. “People might have criticized us if we lost to England, but we didn’t let that happen.”
The semifinal match added another dimension to Argentina’s ongoing rivalry with England over the disputed Falkland Islands, known to Argentina as the Malvinas. The British government urged FIFA to investigate Argentina after players celebrated with a banner declaring “The Malvinas are Argentine.”
Enzo Fernandez’s goal celebration symbolized defiance towards critics. The Chelsea midfielder gestured with his hands over his ears, challenging detractors, and invited further discussion with his finger motions.
Scaloni stated in a press conference that criticism of “help” in matches is perennial and dismissed it, saying, “With VAR today, such help is nearly impossible. We had none.”