On a night that will go down in the history books of the World Cups, Leo Messi's Argentina got a ticket to the semifinals after beating Van Gaal's Netherlands on penalties. A match with a lot of tension that became more complicated as the clock ticked on. More than a dozen cards, constant recriminations, fouls and confrontations marked a high-voltage finish.
So much so, that the FIFA Disciplinary Committee has announced this Saturday the opening of proceedings against both federations for "possible violations" of article 12 of the Disciplinary Code, which refers to "improper conduct by players and officials", during the match. In addition, Argentina is exposed to another possible violation of article 16, on "order and security of the parties."
The duel lived one of the highest moments of tension in the 90th minute, with 1-2 on the scoreboard for Argentina. At that moment, Paredes made a hard tackle on Aké and, when Mateu Lahoz pointed it out, he sent an inexplicable shot to the Dutch bench. An ugly gesture that immediately provoked the angry reaction of the entire Oranje team, starting a brawl that, fortunately, ended quickly after a brief exchange of recriminations and a yellow card to Paredes for the shot.
Wout Weghorst managed to equalize in the 11th minute, but neither the Netherlands nor Argentina would manage to move the score in extra time and the game was resolved from eleven meters. A penalty shootout in which all the accumulated tension would end up exploding in one of the most viral images of the match, the mocking celebration of the albiceleste against the dejected Dutch players.
In these images that have gone around the world and for which the Argentine team has been criticized, several players can be seen celebrating the classification with euphoria, addressing the players from the Netherlands and Nicolás Otamendi with his hands over his ears celebrating it with the popular gesture known as the 'Topo Gigio'. The Benfica player would later explain that his gesture "was taken out of context" and that it was due to the attitude of the Dutch during the penalty shootout: "There was one who, in every penalty we were going to take, would come up and say things to one of our players The celebration is for that, ”he clarified.
Both in the live broadcast, and in the videos that later circulated on social networks, it can be clearly seen how several players from the Netherlands approach Lautaro and accompany him for a long stretch on his way to launch the decisive penalty for Argentina. trying to make him nervous before executing the shot that would end up classifying the albiceleste for the semifinals and provoking the ire of the Dutch dressing room due to the angry celebration of Scaloni's men.
However, in that photograph it can also be seen that, while his teammates recriminate the victory against the Oranje squad, a Messi oblivious to everything runs to celebrate with his goalkeeper, Emiliano Martínez, one of the heroes of the night saving two penalties against Van Dijk and Berghuits.
The captain of the Argentine team was no stranger to all the tension of the match, although his goal was on the rival bench. Leo Messi celebrated the 0-2 victory in Argentina emulating Riquelme with the 'Topo Gigio'. As soon as he scored, he stood before the Netherlands bench and put both hands over his ears with a serious face, recalling this celebration that Riquelme had repeated before during his time at Barcelona, where his bad relationship with Van Gaal was known, then Barca coach.
After the game, Messi himself acknowledged that the gesture was directed at the Dutch coach: “I don't like people talking before games. That's not part of soccer. I always respect everyone, but I like that they respect me too. Van Gaal was not respectful with us, with the Argentine team. A technician like him, with the experience he has, who speaks the way he spoke and disrespects us… It is not normal, ”he snapped.
In the preview, the coach had spoken about the role of the Argentine star in his team's game: “Messi is the most dangerous and creative player in Argentina. But in turn, he hardly even intervenes when the opponent has the ball. That's where our chances are." After the match, the Argentine returned it: "Van Gaal sells that they play soccer very well and only hit balls."
Already in the mixed zone, the captain of Argentina starred in another of the most viral moments of tension. While being interviewed in front of the cameras, Messi seems not to listen to his interlocutor and fixes his gaze on someone out of shot to whom he ends up blurting out a 'what are you looking at, stupid?'. Even the journalist tries to calm him down when he sees his anger. Later, the reporter explained that these words, apparently, were addressed to the Dutchman Wout Weghorst, who was waiting for the anti-doping control and that Van Dijk even had to mediate to calm things down.
The Spanish referee broke the record of cards, with fifteen, in the Netherlands-Argentina: seven to the Dutch team and nine to the albiceleste, which would be ten adding the one shown to Walter Samuel, Lionel Scaloni's assistant in the coaching staff. His arbitration did not leave anyone indifferent and was highly criticized both in the ranks of Argentina and the Netherlands.
“I don't want to talk about the referee because they penalize you if you're honest. They cannot put a referee like that who is not up to the task ”, Messi snapped after the game. A Leo Messi who during his time at Barcelona has "suffered" on several occasions from Mateu Lahoz, the referee who admonished him for showing a shirt in tribute to Diego Maradona, dedicating a goal to him after his death.
Another Barça player, Frenkie de Jong, also charged against the performance of the Spanish referee and assured that he acted conditioned by Argentina's complaints: “As soon as regulation time ended (the Argentine players) they went after him. From that moment he only whistled for Argentina. It was really scandalous. I think he lost his way in extra time and the greatness of Lionel Messi could well have had an influence on that, ”he sentenced.
