Despite the fact that Argentina advanced to the quarterfinal following a thrilling penalty shootout win over the Netherlands, it is clear that Lionel Messia wasn't completely happy after the highly-controversial match. There were more than a few contentious moments during the game, and Messi could not help but throw the game official under the bus after what he felt was an atrocious performance by the ref.
The Argentine captain did not mince words as he called for FIFA to pretty much fire referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz after his showing in the round of 16 match:
āFIFA has to review that. The referee is not up to par,ā Messi said.
Messi wasn't impressed with the referee tonight š¤ pic.twitter.com/vfTm3wMNYs
ā ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) December 9, 2022
It goes without saying that Lionel Messi was not happy with how Lahoz officiated the game. Part of it has to be the fact that the Netherlands were able to crawl its way back from a 2-0 deficit to force extra time. Argentina wasn't pleased by how the referee's calls supposedly went in the favor of their opponents, which ultimately resulted in the Dutch netting twice in the final quarter of the contest.
To be fair, though, there were also some questionable calls on Argentina's side. Messi, in particular, was not penalized despite a clear hand-ball violation early in the second half:
How Messi didnāt get a Yellow for deliberately using his Hand here is actually crazy
Although too late now anyways, W is a W. GGs š
ā Wael (@narcoinsfc) December 9, 2022
Regardless of all the noise, however, what matters the most is that it's Lionel Messi and Argentina who are through to the quarterfinal. They now get to face off against Luka Modric and Croatia on Tuesday. The winner of that match advances to the semifinal and will be one step closer to the World Cup trophy.
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