Messi ‘stamp’ sparks fury as controversy erupts over Argentina winner | Football | Sport
There has been some outrage on social media over Argentina’s winning goal against England after Lionel Messi appeared to ‘stamp’ on Djed Spence. The incident occurred in the build-up to Messi providing the assist to Lautaro Martinez, whose goal sent Argentina into the World Cup final.
The South American national side came from behind against England after Anthony Gordon had put the Three Lions ahead. Thomas Tuchel’s side sat back in an attempt to defend their lead, but simply welcomed pressure from their opponent that they were able to take advantage of.
Messi first supplied Enzo Fernandez with the ball to restore parity to the match before Martinez scored a stoppage-time winner. The header sparked jubilant celebrations at full-time and a few fiery flare-ups between the sides.
But some fans have taken issue with Messi’s collision with Spence, sparking controversy and claims the goal should have been looked at closer by VAR. “I thought Argentina had won the game against England without so much referee help,” said one fan.
“But after seeing Enzo’s blow to the back of the neck and now this stomp by Messi on Spence in the second goal, I’m seriously doubting it now.”
“Not a single repetition in the broadcast, but the one from Egypt they repeated 100 times,” added another.
“Messi’s stamp on Spence before Lautaro’s goal, why does VAR only work when the goal is against Argentina?” fumed a social media user.
“That’s a clear foul,” claimed one viewer. Another said: “What is the use of Var if they can’t spot something like this.”
A further fan pointed out the contradiction in how a similar incident was dealt with when Egypt were denied a goal against Argentina.
“Zico’s goal gets disallowed for a stamp 30m away Argentina’s goal line… but Messi doing this less than a meter from England’s goal line in the buildup to the winner isn’t even reviewed,” they wrote.
EXPRESS SPORT ON FB! Get all the best sports news and much more on our Facebook page
Get the latest World Cup news straight to your inbox by signing up to our Make Football Great Again newsletter now!
It’s not the first time that Messi has come under scrutiny for an off-the-ball stamp. The Algerian Football Federation filed a complaint with FIFA after their defeat to Argentina.
It was said to be particularly focused on the challenge made by Messi, which caught Algeria captain Aissa Mandi on his right calf and Achilles tendon. On that occasion, the former Barcelona star had his studs up.
Polish referee Szymon Marciniak did not punish Messi despite awarding Algeria a free kick. The lack of action prompted much discussion in the aftermath, with Messi going on to score a hat-trick in the match.
There have been conspiracies that Argentina have received preferential treatment by FIFA and the referees at the tournament, but Messi hit back at those unfounded claims after the final whistle against England.
“This proves that what we did wasn’t by chance and that nobody gave us anything,” he said. “Reaching two World Cup finals is something few achieve, and this group did it. Let people keep enjoying it. What this group has achieved is incredible – another final, we’ve come back to be world champions, we’re the best in the world after these four years, whether people like it or not, and no matter what they say.”
Defending champions Argentina will now face Spain in Sunday’s World Cup final, with England taking on France in the third-place bronze medal match.
