Argentine superstar Messi not only took the referee to heart after the World Cup quarter-finals. Dutch brace Wout Weghorst and coach Louis van Gaal also indulged themselves.
The quarter-finals of the World Cup were difficult… Again and again there were problems on the pitch. After the final whistle, Argentine superstar Messi (35) let off steam.
The Netherlands and Argentina also set a World Cup record for yellow cards in their dramatic quarter-final clash.
World Cup quarter-finals Netherlands and Argentina: 15 yellow cards
According to statistics service provider OptaFranz, there have never been a total of 15 cautions for players from both teams in any match in World Cup history.
Dutchman Wout Weghorst even saw his yellow card on Friday night (9 December 2022) while still on the bench. In the end, Argentina won 4-3 on penalties in front of 88,235 spectators at Lusail Stadium.
Striker Lionel Messi especially criticized the Spanish referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz: “I don’t want to talk about referees because you can be punished. You can’t say what you think.” This referee, however, was not up to the game.
After the quarter-finals of the World Cup, Messi is also aiming in the direction of Louis van Gaal
And Messi’s criticisms weren’t aimed only at the referee. He also railed against Dutch coach Louis van Gaal (71) in front of the camera: “Van Gaal says the Dutch play very good football. But all they did was play too much in midfield with long balls and look for their big front players”.
He explained the hand gesture after the penalty for the 2-0 (73rd) in the direction of the bench.
You can see Messi’s scene photo here:
Copyright: AFP
After the 2-0, Messi makes the ear gesture in front of the Dutch bench, which he later explains in the interview.
Another incident occurred during the interview in the stadium catacombs.
When Messi sees Dutchman Wout Weghorst pass behind him, he briefly interrupts the conversation and scolds the Dutch double scorer twice: “What are you looking at, idiot?” Meanwhile, Messi is celebrated in Argentina for his joke. T-shirts with “Qué mira, Bobo?” have already been printed. (dpa/mt)
