Things got really bad when Argentina qualified for the World Cup semi-finals.
But the captain of the national team, Lionel Scaloni, wants to play down what happened.
– He says that Argentina do not play sports.
The quarter-final match between the Netherlands and Argentina contained most of it. Goal fireworks, much talked about free kick variant and a lot of emotions. There was a flurry of yellow cards during the match, which Argentina eventually managed to win on penalties.
– People saw what happened. I think FIFA should take care of this, they can’t use such a referee for such an important match. Lionel Messi said afterwards, among others, that the referee must be ready for the task.
“emotions take over”
Images of Argentina’s celebrations went viral on social media, as they cheered visibly in front of the frustrated Netherlands players. Nicolás Tagliafico defends his team’s actions.
– These are situations that can arise in the world of football. Emotions are taking over. It has happened before and it will happen again. Two teams are fighting for their countries, Tagliafico says at the press conference ahead of Tuesday’s semi-final match.
Guild Captain: “Far from where we are”
Confederation captain Lionel Scaloni also believes that emotions are a natural part of football.
– I want to put an end to this matter. Last game… It’s football. Sometimes there can be arguments and clashes. That’s why there is a judge, says Scaloni, emphasizing:
Argentina is not unsportsmanlike. We lost to Saudi Arabia and we did not say anything. That we are neither good gainers nor good losers… that is far from who we are.
On Tuesday evening, Argentina will face Croatia in the World Cup semi-finals.
– We have analyzed where we can harm them. Scaloni says they have caused havoc for many national teams.