DBasia.news – The 2022 World Cup quarter-final match between Argentina and the Netherlands is over. Albiceleste managed to emerge victorious after going through a penalty shootout.
Argentina won 4-3 in a shootout after two Dutch executors, Virgil van Dijk and Steven Berghuis, failed to score and from Argentina only Enzo Fernandez failed to do so.
The penalty came after the game in normal time ended in a 2-2 draw when Nahuel Molina’s goal (35′) and Lionel Messi’s penalty (73′) were replied to by two goals from the Dutch substitute, Wout Weghorst, in 83 and 90+11 minutes.
The match ran fiercely with the drama that occurred, starting from Leandro Paredes’ kick at the Netherland’s bench and causing a commotion, as well as Lionel Messi’s quip to Louis van Gaal when he directly spoke to him before being separated by Edgard Davids.
It didn’t stop there, the leadership of the match referee from Spain, Antonio Mateu Lahoz, was also in the spotlight. He issued a total of 19 yellow cards and some of his decisions in the matches have been questioned.
“I think the referee lost his way here,” said football pundit Martin Keown, who was added by former Argentina striker Sergio Aguero. “God, how can this referee attract attention.”
Some of his controversial decisions, such as when Messi did a handball but was ignored, then he also gave a free kick to the Netherlands which led to Weghorst’s goal, to the yellow cards given to two Dutch players when Argentina won in the penalty shootout.
Aguero and Keown were not the only ones to criticize Lahoz’s leadership, as were Messi and Emiliano Martinez (Argentine goalkeeper).
“This match shouldn’t have ended like that. I don’t want to talk about the referee because he sanctioned you, but people saw what happened,” Messi said after the match ended, as quoted from the Mirror.
“We were afraid before the game because we know how he is and I think FIFA should review this, you can’t put a referee like him in this game.”
Martinez didn’t hesitate to say that Lahoz was a crazy referee and thought that Lahoz had an agenda to get rid of Argentina after Spain were eliminated.
“The referee gave everything for them (the Netherlands). He gave 10 minutes (additional time) for no reason. He gave them free-kicks outside the box, like two, three times. He just wants them to score goals, that’s all,” Martinez said.
“So hopefully we don’t have that referee anymore. He’s useless. You say something to him and he pays you back badly. I think since Spain was knocked out he wanted us to be out too.”