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Lionel Messi has a message for Argentina’s critics: ‘Nothing has been handed to us.’
The Argentine superstar responded to critics who slammed the reigning World Cup champions over the perception of beneficial refereeing and favoritism from the football establishment. He said the team’s ability to overturn late match deficits, most recently the semi-final victory over England, is a result of championship pedigree and nothing more.
After falling 1-0 down in the 85th minute, Argentina rallied to a 2-1 victory over England on Wednesday to reach the World Cup final.
The victory led tens of thousands of people to fill the streets of Buenos Aires in ecstatic celebrations and marked another remarkable comeback that showed the perseverance of a team now on its way to back-to-back victories. Argentina will face Spain in the final on Sunday.
Argentina had survived earlier by beating Cape Verde and Switzerland in overtime, and rallied to an improbable 3-2 victory over Egypt after coming back from a 2-0 loss with 11 minutes of regulation time remaining. But Swiss and Egyptian coaches criticized the refereeing. Egyptian Hossam Hassan went so far as to say his team were victims of a football establishment that favored Messi and Argentina.
The comments fueled criticism from fans who say FIFA favored the Albiceleste, as well as unfounded claims on social media that soccer’s governing body wants Argentina to become World Cup champions again.
“We have been the best in these last four years, whether you like it or not, and it doesn’t matter what anyone says,” Messi said after the victory against England.
“Once again we have established ourselves among the two best teams in the world. This proves that everything we have done is not a coincidence and that nothing has been given to us.”
The match against Switzerland was marred by a call that irked those who believe Argentina was favored by World Cup officials.
The Swiss had just equalized at 1-1 on a goal from Dan Ndoye in the 67th minute when Leandro Paredes received a yellow card for a tackle on Breel Embolo. But the video shows the Swiss player falling before the Argentine midfielder made contact with him, and as Embolo received a yellow card earlier in the match, he was sent off and Switzerland had to defend with 10 players.
“We were punished because of a rule that, in my opinion, is completely unacceptable,” Swiss coach Murat Yakin said after the match. “It’s very painful that we were eliminated like this. I don’t think we deserved this today, and in my opinion, my boys are the real heroes.”
Separately, the Egyptian Football Federation said it “cannot remain silent” after refereeing Egypt’s defeat against Argentina in an unfair and biased manner.
The Argentine team had not acknowledged the complaints regarding refereeing and FIFA. During previous press conferences, Argentinian coach Lionel Scaloni had even advised journalists questioned on the subject to “not consume social networks as much”.
But after the victory against England, the reigning champions fought back.
“Reaching two consecutive World Cup finals is something that very few people achieve, and this group did it,” Messi said. “If we had lost to England there would have been people who would have come out and talked nonsense, but we didn’t give them the chance.”
Wednesday’s semifinal was the latest chapter in a long-running feud that has transcended the field to encompass British control of the disputed Falkland Islands, which Argentina calls the Malvinas and claims as its sovereign territory.
The British government on Thursday asked FIFA to investigate the Argentina team after players celebrating their victory against England posed with a banner handed out by fans, which read “Las Malvinas son Argentinas” – “The Malvinas are Argentines”.
Enzo Fernández admitted his goal celebration, which leveled the score at 1-1, was aimed at Argentina’s critics. The Chelsea midfielder first put his hands to his ears, a gesture interpreted in football as a challenge to critics. Then he opened and closed his fingers, as if inviting them to continue speaking.
“There was a lot of discussion; it was a mixture of euphoria and frustration,” Fernandez said.
Scaloni, for his part, said at the post-semi-final press conference that “this talk of ‘aid’ will always exist; it doesn’t bother me.”
“With VAR today it’s very difficult to get help; it should be obvious. We knew there was no help.”
Associated Press reporting.
