During the meeting, won by the Albiceleste after a tense shots session, the referee distributed a total of eighteen boxes, including a red.
MO12345lemonde with AFP
“It was a very difficult match”, admitted the coach of Argentina, Lionel Scaloni, after the painful qualification of his team for the semi-finals of the World Cup in Qatar … so difficult that the FIFA announced on Saturday the opening of disciplinary procedures targeting both Argentina and the Netherlands. The meeting was particularly tense, on the ground and outside.
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The “FIFA disciplinary commission opened a procedure against the Argentine Federation for potential violation of articles 12 (bad behavior of players and officials) and 16 (order and security of the match)”, said FIFA in a statement. The body said they do the same against the Dutch federation, also for potential violation of article 12 of its regulation.
For ninety minutes, the tensions between the two teams were such that the Spanish referee of the meeting, Antonio Mateu Lahoz, distributed seventeen yellow cards (ten for Argentina and seven for the Netherlands), and a red for Dutch Denzel Dumfries during the penalty shootout. In the additional time of the first period, he had previously warned Wout Weghorst, who was still on the replacement bench. Coming into play in the second half, the same Wout Weghorst had scored the two goals that allowed the Dutch to obtain the extension.
The penalty shootout was not more peaceful. From the decisive penalty, inscribed by Lautaro Martinez, the Argentines joined their scorer, while openly mocking the Dutch gathered in the central round. The Dutch people did not stop trying to destabilize the Argentinian shooters during the decisive session, underlined after the meeting the teammates of Lionel Messi.
After the match, a brief altercation opposed Lionel Messi to Wout Weghorst while the first responded to the press. “What are you looking at, foolish? Go your way, fool”, annoys the Argentinian captain.
😡 Lionel Messi attacks Wout Weghorst after Netherlands-Argentina !!
🗯️ “You watch what, keep fool” …
👉… https://t.co/dj9yYGhlzkp
The referee criticized by the Argentine selection
The same Lionel Messi has not shown himself more leads to the referee of the meeting, with whom he has been cold since his Barcelona years. “We cannot put a referee like that for a match of such a scale,” lambasted the Argentine star, estimating at the microphone of BeIN Sports that “FIFA must take care of that”. “The referee cannot fail to be up to the task,” he was still in his way. Antonio Mateu Lahoz, 45, is notably known to have arbitrated the final of the Champions League 2020-2021.
“There were two or three whistled faults with which we did not agree, the ten minutes of additional time”, added in a more peaceful tone The Argentinian environment Alexis Mac Allister.
While reproaching the Dutch for having made the match “very strange”, the Argentinian coach, Lionel Scaloni, was more diplomat with regard to Antonio Mateu Lahoz. “From the referee I will not say anything. I know him, I have good relations with him, let’s be there. The goal is to go to the end.”