Footage has emerged displaying Argentina’s pathetic attempt to con the referee into reversing his decision to show Enzo Fernandez a red card in the World Cup final.
The Chelsea midfielder was given his marching orders in the 93rd minute on Sunday, after picking up a second yellow card for a recklessly late challenge on Spain defender Pau Cubarsi.
Fernandez protested his innocence vehemently, but it was hard to argue against the decision of referee Slavko Vincic. Cubarsi had gone flying through the air after the foul.
And now a new angle of the foul has come to light, showing that Nicolas Tagliafico faked an injury within seconds of Fernandez flying in on Cubarsi, in an attempt to try and save the 25-year-old from being dismissed.
The full-back was walking normally until he spotted his team-mate’s moment of madness, before dropping to the deck in an instant, holding his leg.
Lionel Messi then shamelessly rushed over to the referee after he had already gotten the red card out of his pocket, and pointed over to Tagliafico in a last-ditch attempt to prevent Argentina going down to 10 men ahead of extra-time.
Argentina’s Enzo Fernandez was shown a red card in the 93rd minute of the World Cup final
Nicolas Tagliafico (top left of the shot) could be seen faking an injury to try and distract the referee after Fernandez committed the foul
The desperate ploy failed to change Vincic’s mind, and no amount of fakery could prevent Fernandez from being sent for an early bath.
Fernandez’s dismissal rounded off an abysmal 90 minutes for the 2022 champions, who had no shots compared to Spain’s 15.
Argentina went on to lose in extra time after Ferran Torres smashed home a 106th-minute winner to secure a second star on Spain’s crest.
The ugly antics from the South American side worsened after the full-time whistle, with Leandro Paredes, who was incredibly lucky to avoid being sent off during the final, sparking a mass brawl during Spain’s celebrations.
The midfielder was consumed by rage after the defeat and could be seen throttling Eric Garcia in the throat. Moments later, he pushed Gavi to the ground while thrashing his arms around.
Nahuel Molina also punched Rodri in the torso as he was running by, while Thiago Almada was involved in the scuffle, too.
Micah Richards said of their behaviour on the BBC: ‘It’s embarrassing. They were on the cusp every single time.
‘Seeing that sort of stuff after the game was played, it’s not good, it’s embarrassing to be honest.
Fernandez sent Pau Cubarsi cartwheeling into the air with his recklessly late foul
There were also ugly scenes after the full-time whistle as Leandro Paredes (centre) sparked a brawl
‘Paredes is better than that. We all know what it’s like to lose a game but this is not good enough.’
Joe Hart believed the post-match behaviour from Argentina was ‘disgusting’ while pointing out that Messi was the only player to show some ‘class’. Meanwhile, Wayne Rooney wasn’t surprised.
Rooney said: ‘We’ve seen this from Argentina before. It’s just sad, very poor from them. If you lose a game of football, be graceful. It’s a reaction to them being outplayed. Enzo Fernandez has got what he deserves.’
