It wasn't easy, but Argentina pulled through in the World Cup quarterfinals on Friday, beating the Netherlands in penalties. There was no shortage of controversy though, with referee Antonio Miguel Mateu Lahoz completely losing control of the game. A total of 15 yellow cards were handed out, along with a whopping 48 fouls being committed. These two sides did not like each other and it became increasingly evident as the match rolled on.

Following the victory, Argentine keeper Emiliano Martinez gave a rather heated interview after playing hero in spot-kicks, absolutely ripping apart the officiating and telling Dutch boss Louis Van Gaal to shut his mouth. Fireworks.

Via Luis Miguel Echegaray:

“It was a tricky game man we went two nil up we control the game and then the ref started giving everything to them. All of the sudden, they get a good header, a good flick I couldn't see it and then it just turned upside down and the ref was just giving everything to them he gave 10 minutes for them he was giving free kicks outside the box two three times he just wanted them to score so hopefully we dont have that ref anymore he is useless. I heard Van Gaal say we got advantage in the game goes to penalties. I think he needs to keep his mouth shut.”

Yikes. To be honest, though, Argentina and the Netherlands were both getting lots of calls. Emotions were running high and it just turned into a physical mess out there, with Lionel Messi and Co. even trolling Holland after Lautaro Martinez netted the winning spot-kick.

Did the best team come out victorious? Perhaps. However, the Dutch showed serious guts to even come back in the first place. Argentina's dirty style of play meanwhile isn't exactly a pretty thing to watch. We'll see if that same ref is running the show in the semifinals against Croatia.