Argentina suffered a heavy defeat in their World Cup quarterfinal match against Croatia. The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) has announced a disciplinary review into irregularities on both sides of Argentina's quarterfinal match against the Netherlands, with Lionel Messi and Damian Martinez at the center of attention. Their post-match accusations against the referee could lead to the worst possible suspension, a major blow to Argentina's preparations.
Argentina's heated clash with the Netherlands at the end of the match has seen acts such as Belidis' deliberate kick at the Dutch bench and Wahkil Yundjak's malicious shoveling become the subject of an investigation. Spain's Marca newspaper revealed that Lionel Messi and Damian Martinez's post-match criticism of referee Matoulaghes could trigger serious consequences.
Messi realized the possible consequences of his words after the match, but still couldn't help but say, "I don't want to comment on the referee because I could be suspended. We were worried about this referee before the match, I don't want to say more, the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) should reflect on this, it's impossible to send an unqualified referee to enforce such a big battle." In contrast, goalkeeper Damián Martínez was even more scathing, directly accusing Maturajas of "arrogance" and even questioning the Spanish referee's attempts to put Argentina on the spot because of his national team's exit.
It is not the first time Lionel Messi has been suspended by the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) for "bad-mouthing", as he was banned for four matches for insulting an assistant referee in a 2017 World Cup qualifier against Chile, but after completing the first suspension, FIFA ruled that his appeal was justified and he did not have to fulfill the remaining three suspensions. In Argentina's quarterfinal match, Magos Aguna and Gonzalo Montiel were suspended for yellow card accumulation.
