LIONEL MESSI fumed at referee Mateu Lahoz after a record SEVENTEEN bookings were handed out during Argentina’s win over the Netherlands.
Both sets of players were unimpressed with the performance of Lahoz, with the game being stopped time and time again for fouls.
And things threatened to boil over at one point when Leandro Paredes booted the ball at the Dutch bench after being unhappy with a free kick Lahoz gave against him.
PSG midfielder Paredes then appeared to meet his match as he was barged over by Dutch captain Virgil van Dijk.
In his post-match interview, Messi said of Lahoz: “I think that FIFA cannot use this referee for this type of match because he is not up to the task.”
The 17 cards the referee handed out to players during the match set an all-time record, beating another infamous clash involving the Netherlands.
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Sixteen bookings were given during the Battle of Nuremberg in 2006, when Portugal beat the Dutch 1-0 and four players were sent off.
Following his interview, one fan claimed that Messi was channelling his inner Maradona with his complaints about the ref.
Messi and Lahoz have previous from his time playing at Barcelona, and bizarrely enough one of their biggest run-ins was related to Diego Maradona himself.
After Argentina legend Maradona passed away, Messi celebrated a goal by unveiling the number ten shirt of Newell’s Old Boys – the club he supports, and Maradona briefly played for.
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However, Lahoz was not willing to bend the rules even after Maradona’s death and promptly showed the then-Barca star a yellow card.
There was no sign of the high drama to come in the game when Argentina raced into a 2-0 lead in Qatar
Those goals came through Messi brilliantly assisting Nahuel Molina for Argentina’s opener then scoring a goal of his own from the penalty spot.
But the Argentina defence was caught napping when Burnley flop Wout Weghorst came off the bench to head the Dutch back into the game.
And with the last kick of normal time, Weghorst took the game to extra time after tapping in from a fantastically disguised free kick routine.
But it was Argentina who emerged triumphant thanks to two penalty saves from Emi Martinez in the shootout.
The drama didn’t end there however, as defender Nicolas Otamendi celebrated in the faces of the Netherlands team following the victory.
In his post-match interview with beIN Sports, goalkeeper Emi Martinez was even more scathing towards the ref than Messi.
He said of Lahoz: “The referee was giving everything to them. He gave 10 minutes for no reason…
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“He just wanted them to score.
“Hopefully we don’t have that ref any more, he’s useless.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
