Portugal, one of the favorites to win the tournament, made an unexpected exit in the last eight stage of the World Cup. After the match, many of the team's stars blamed the Argentine referee, Terao. Center back Bibi and midfielder Bono Fernandes both questioned FIFA's arrangement, believing that there is a suspicion of "transfer of benefits". One player even said indignantly, "Why don't we just give the title to Argentina?" This is a strong hint that FIFA is favoring Argentina.
Bono Fernandes, who plays for Manchester United, said in a post-match interview, "The fact that a referee's nationality (Argentina) is still competing in the World Cup is quite strange in itself. I don't know if FIFA intends to give the title to Argentina, I don't really care about that, I'm just expressing my opinion."
Veteran Bibi also said, "It is truly baffling that an Argentinean referee was scheduled to enforce this game after the onslaught on the referee by Mez and the entire Argentinean team. We hardly had any chances in the second half and the referee kept suspending the game and ended up with only 8 minutes of extra time? All I can say is that I would bet on Argentina to win the title."
