The World Cup referee who oversaw Lionel Messi and Argentina’s win to set up a semi-final against England overnight has been accused of ‘being against’ Switzerland as anger grows against the perceived treatment of the world champions.
Switzerland’s players and manager were incensed with Argentina’s triumph, 3-1 in extra-time, after their striker Breel Embolo became the first player to be sent off as a result of a new rule for mistaken identity.
With the quarter-final level on 72 minutes, Embolo was shown a second yellow card after a video assistant referee review which led to him being adjudged to have dived – rather than being fouled by Argentina’s Leandro Paredes. A new rule introduced for this World Cup states that if a player is booked or sent off – but the foul was actually committed by the opposition – the decision can be changed.
Switzerland’s response was emphatic. Defender Manuel Akanji said: ‘Every little thing was called against us’ and ‘I’ve never experienced such a one-sided game.’ Manager Murat Yakin called the refereeing ‘incomprehensible’.
Their comments will only add to the outlandish World Cup ‘fixing’ conspiracy theories which suggest Messi and Co are being favoured by FIFA to knock out England and lift the trophy in New Jersey next Sunday.
Lionel Messi approaches referee Joao Pinheiro in Argentina’s World Cup quarter-final win
Switzerland’s players protest after Breel Embolo was shown a red card late in the game
Egypt, who lost to Argentina in the last round, have already called for a FIFA investigation over the manner of their exit. Their winger Mostafa Ziko said: ‘This tournament has been fixed,’ while coach Hossam Hassan said: ‘This match was rigged, and the whole world saw it.’
FIFA’s chief refereeing officer Pierluigi Collina responded, stating that ‘nobody can question the integrity’ of the refereeing and ‘unfounded allegations have no place in our sport’.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino then said: ‘Tonight, I suffered with Argentina…but I’m neutral.’ His comments fueled the online feeling about Messi and his team-mates being handed a path to the final.
And now Switzerland are furious too. Portuguese official Joao Pinheiro was the man in the middle on Saturday night, while the VAR was Guillermo Pacheco of Mexico.
Inter Milan star Akanji, formerly of Manchester City, said: ‘When you have the referee against you, it becomes difficult. Every little thing was called against us. Every dive and every foul by the Argentinians went unpunished. I don’t usually say anything against the officials, but I’ve never experienced such a one-sided game as today.
‘As soon as the game was over, I thought: I’m so proud of our team. What we’ve achieved throughout the entire tournament, and especially today… We played against the world champions, and they didn’t stand a chance.
‘I can’t recall a single scoring opportunity from open play where we were lucky. If the game had continued 11 against 11, it would have likely gone in our favor.’
Egypt were also furious about the refereeing treatment of Argentina in the last round
Team-mate Remo Freuler said: ‘We had high hopes and put in a superb performance until the red card. That, of course, disrupted our flow. I still don’t understand how VAR can intervene in such a situation. FIFA needs to explain that to me.’
Manager Yakin added: ‘After the equaliser, we clearly had the momentum on our side. Unfortunately, this was punished by a refereeing error. The referee shouldn’t have given the Argentinian a yellow card in that situation.
‘There’s no reason for it; the incident wasn’t malicious or rough or anything like that. Then he corrects his own mistake and punishes us. That’s incomprehensible and beyond my comprehension.
‘The decision is baffling to me, there was no reason for it. It’s a shame. We missed a great opportunity, and unfortunately, the journey is over. It hurts, but we can be proud. These are my great heroes.’
And captain Granit Xhaka said: ‘The rules are the rules, we can’t change them. But with a decision like this, they’re killing football, that’s my opinion. I appeal to you: Don’t kill the game!’
Down to 10 men, Switzerland clung on until the 112th minute, when Julian Alvarez curled a quite brilliant shot into the top corner. And then, in stoppage time, Lautaro Martinez slotted in a third to set up the latest chapter of one of football’s most storied battles.
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Daily Mail Sport’s Daniel Matthews called Embolo’s dive ‘a moment of stupidity’.
Embolo ended the World Cup just as he began it – separated from his teammates and wondering what he had done wrong. Nearly six weeks have passed since the Switzerland striker was blocked from traveling to the US because of issues with his visa.
It turned out his ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) was no longer approved. Thankfully, it didn’t take long for Embolo to rejoin the rest of the squad and over the past month he has led the line for Yakin’s side – scoring two goals, creating two more and causing Argentina plenty of problems here, too.
But then the authorities took issue with Embolo once more. Switzerland had just equalized when the referee consulted his monitor and realised that Embolo had dived. The striker was in tears after he was shown the red card.
