A new camera angle has called into question whether Enzo Fernandez – who equalised against England to spark Argentina’s late comeback – should have been on the pitch after his rough handling of Elliot Anderson.
The £106million Chelsea midfielder filled England fans with dread with his long-range strike pulling Argentina level in the 85th minute.
Staring down the barrel of injury time with the two teams locked at 1-1, Lautaro Martinez then snuffed out the Three Lions’ faint hope of making their first World Cup final since 1966 with his 92nd-minute winner.
But England might have been in a different mood entirely, and facing a completely different Argentina, should Fernandez have received an early sanction.
In the third minute of the match, Fernandez ploughed into a heavy challenge on Anderson which left the England player clutching the back of his neck.
Anderson, who was repeatedly targeted throughout an attritional first-half, took a minute or two to haul himself off the turf as England and Argentina players came together in an early showing of the bitter rivalry between the two teams.
Enzo Fernandez bundled into Elliot Anderson in a clumsy challenge on Wednesday evening
The Chelsea midfielder appeared to strike Anderson in the back of his neck as he clattered him
Fernandez then lingered as Anderson was pushed to the ground in the opening minutes
Referee Ismail Elfath battled to separate the sets of players, but did not hold up a card of either colour to punish Fernandez.
An extended replay for television audiences however shows Fernandez barreling into Anderson with little thought for the ball at his feet, and appearing to chop him in the neck with his elbow.
Arguably an outright red, Fernandez might have at least seen a yellow card for his clumsy play – with the Chelsea star then dodging a second punishment minutes later for skittling an on-rushing Jude Bellingham yards from the Argentina penalty area.
Tuchel clapped the tackle and the decision not to penalise Fernandez from the dugout.
It was instead Anderson himself who received the first yellow card of the match, the midfielder lashing out at Lionel Messi after suffering persistent tackles.
Fans on social media were left incensed by Fernandez’s first challenging in particular, with one writing: ‘Enzo Fernandez punched Anderson in the head and DIDN’T EVEN GET A YELLOW CARD.
‘It was a RED. BUT KEEP ROBBING US, THIEVES’.
Another shared: ‘Enzo Fernandez has elbowed Anderson in the head, pushed Bellingham, and now fouled Bellingham in a good area, and still hasn’t been booked. Where did the World Cup find this ref from’.
A third added: ‘The fact that it didn’t even go to VAR is shocking, that’s a red in any league’.
Anderson was left clutching his neck but no card was brandished in Fernandez’s direction
The player then tripped Jude Bellingham as he made his way towards the Argentina box
Bellingham was skittled and Fernandez again avoided punishment, staying on to score the all-important equaliser
Fernandez’s club Chelsea previously found themselves in hot water when they posted a photograph of their player’s goal celebration against England and congratulated him on social media.
The west London team was forced to quickly delete the post after a number of fans pointed out its inappropriate timing.
Tensions continued to bubble over throughout the match, spilling into full-time when jubilant Argentina players unfurled a homemade banner claiming ownership of the Falkland Islands.
Despite FIFA’s ban on political flags, Tottenham captain Cristian Romero, Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez and former Spurs midfielder Giovani Lo Celso danced alongside the controversial banner.
In the build-up, Argentina fans have stoked ill-feeling by persistently bringing up their claim to the archipelago, with the country’s vice-president posting hours before the match that the team should ‘claim what’s ours’ against the ‘usurping pirates’ – a phrase often used to describe citizens of the United Kingdom during the Falklands War.
A total of 255 British servicemen were among the 907 people who died in the 1982 conflict, which saw UK armed forces retake the islands after an Argentine invasion.
Britain first landed on the uninhabited islands in 1690 and claimed them for the Crown in 1765. It has maintained a permanent presence there since 1833 – 47 years before Argentina became a fully unified state following its declaration of independence from Spain in 1816.
The last official referendum of Falkland Islanders was held in 2013, when 99.8 per cent of voters chose to remain a British Overseas Territory.
Bellingham was also targeted following the final whistle, with Romero goading the England superstar, before unused Argentine substitute Valentin Barco appeared to mouth something in his direction.
Bellingham appeared to smack Valentin Barco on the back of his head after he is thought to have said something in his direction
The two men squared up to one another as the unused substitute for Argentina pushed England’s star man to breaking point
Argentina players than raised a banner supporting their claim to the Falkland Islands and may yet receive a FIFA fine
The 23-year-old appeared pushed to breaking point, and seemed to smack Barco on the back of the head in response.
Bellingham was then rounded on by Nicolas Otamendi, who came over to shove him – while his Argentina team-mates attempted to act as peacemaker instead.
England had opened the scoring in the 55th minute thanks to a well-worked Anthony Gordon goal, and appeared to have a grip on their lead despite an increased level of Argentina attack as the second-half wore on.
But a raft of defensive changes late on from Tuchel, with Ezri Konsa, Dan Burn, and Nico O’Reilly swapped on for Gordon, Reece James and Declan Rice, were unable to stop a late onslaught.
Tuchel has since come under fire for ‘cowardly’ substitutions amid a ‘coaching catastrophe’.
Iker Casillas, who lifted the World Cup with Spain in 2010, slammed England’s lack of possession after capturing their lead, calling it a ‘cowardly approach’ on X.
‘They haven’t left their own box and have allowed Argentina to come forward more. The logical outcome happens,’ the Real Madrid star wrote.
‘England lost the match all by themselves with that approach. They let Argentina do whatever they wanted. That can’t happen. The final will be incredible.’
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