After the World Cup final, Nicolas Otamendi approached Rodri and challenged him over Aymeric Laporte’s pre-match comments ahead of La Seleccion’s 1-0 defeat to Argentina. Former Manchester City centre-back Laporte did not hold back and suggested that referees had missed Argentina’s fouls and challenges throughout the tournament.
Ferran Torres’ extra-time goal clinched Spain’s fourth title, stopping Lionel Messi and others from repeating the title. Spain are world champions again and Luis de la Fuente’s side can be proud of their one-goal victory at the New Jersey Stadium in New York. However, the same could not be said for their opponents, with Enzo Fernandes sent off for two yellow cards, the second of which was blown away for a reckless challenge on Pau Kvarsi. Tensions flared again at full-time, with Leandro Paredes shown a red card for throwing a punch for no reason.
Argentina committed 27 dirty tricks against Spain and the tension didn’t stop there. After the match, Otamendi and Rodri were seen talking on the pitch.
The former Benfica defender said excitedly: “Don’t talk anymore, you’ve been crying all week. You and Laporte, we’ve both been crying all week.
“I’m not doing that, I’m crying to the referee, my friend.”
Rodri replied: “I respect you,” to which Otamendi added: “We don’t need to talk beforehand, do we?”
Embarrassed by this accusation, the Manchester City midfielder asked: “What did I say?”
Otamendi responded: “Laporte? Didn’t you see what he said this week?”
Otamendi’s comments came after Laporte was asked if Spain was concerned about Argentina’s aggressiveness ahead of the final. Laporte suggested that the referees had missed many fouls and challenges on the Argentine side throughout the tournament.
He told Marca: “I’m not worried at all about aggression in football. As long as it’s consensual and the referee is doing his job, I have no problem with it. It’s true that in recent games we’ve seen a lot of things that have been overlooked, a lot of behavior that has been overlooked.”
“Especially with Argentina, a team that leaves a lot of messages. In football, especially in big tournaments like this, you shouldn’t allow that to happen because it can destabilize the opposition team. It’s part of the referee’s job to control these things, so if one or two players do that, the game will spin out of control.”
“Ever since the tournament started, we’ve been a humble team in that respect. We can’t hit our rivals, we can’t commit outrageous fouls, and I think that’s what we have to do in this game, but it’s true that a lot depends on the refereeing.”
There have been calls for FIFA to “throw the book” at Argentina, but Argentina has once again shown poor sportsmanship by turning its back on Spain’s actions of accepting medals and hoisting trophies.
