Argentina defended by local media despite FIFA launching investigation into World Cup brawl
Argentina have been described as ‘polite and respectful’ despite sparking a heated brawl that tarnished the FIFA World Cup Final. The South American nation were looking to become the first team since Brazil in 1962 to defend their title as they faced Spain in New Jersey.
However, things unraveled for the reigning world champions, with Ferran Torres’ strike sealing their defeat in extra time. The conduct of several Argentine players also drew significant criticism.
Leandro Paredes and Nahuel Molina were both caught up in post-match confrontations, with the former receiving a red card for his involvement, prompting an investigation by FIFA. Enzo Fernández was also dismissed during the match for a reckless challenge on Pau Cubarsi, as per The Mirror.
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Despite this, newspapers back in Argentina maintained that the squad conducted themselves admirably. A report from Argentine outlet Clarín stated: “As never before, the Argentine team displayed, both on and off the field, a range of values that are rare these days. From the pitch and beyond, they gave several lessons and showed the face of a country that we would like to see away from the football pitch.
“A team that was polite and respectful, despite a few unfortunate isolated incidents in the last match; that didn’t speak ill of its rivals or try to justify its own mistakes by blaming others.”
The reaction to Argentina’s behavior tells a vastly different story in the UK press. Weighing in on Paredes’ dismissal, Wayne Rooney remarked: “Does it surprise you? It doesn’t surprise me. We’ve seen this with Argentina before.
“It’s just not the reaction you want. We’ve seen some of the reaction after knocking England out in the last round. That’s just sad. If you lose a game of football, be graceful and get out of there. It’s really poor from them.”
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He added: “That’s a reaction to them being outplayed, out-fought, out-thought on the football pitch, and then they resort to that at the end. It’s poor from those two players.”
Alan Shearer said: “Paredes threw two or three haymakers into someone’s face. He went for them. There is no place or space for that.
“We know how much it means to them and we know how much it hurts to lose, but there is a way to lose. Too many times we have seen that from Argentina. The reaction after the final whistle is terrible.”
Gary Neville also weighed in on the incident, stating: “They’re very competitive and I love that element of them, but (Paredes) has just been a disgrace for the last couple of games, and why the referees have allowed him to continue doing what he is doing.”
