Argentina’s players have been widely criticized for their actions after the World Cup, but some in the South American media don’t seem to fully agree.
Argentine players’ actions after the final whistle have come under fire (Image: Getty Images)
Argentina have been labeled as “polite and polite” despite sparking an angry brawl that marred the World Cup final. The South American team faced Spain in New Jersey, aiming to become the first team since Brazil in 1962 to retain the trophy.
However, things didn’t go as planned for the reigning world champions, who lost with a goal from Ferran Torres. The actions of many Argentine players were also subject to criticism.
Leandro Paredes and Nahuel Molina were involved in a post-match scuffle, with the former being sent off. Enzo Fernandes was also sent off during the match for a disastrous challenge on Pau Kvarsi.
Despite this, the South American country’s newspaper believes the team behaved well. A report in Argentine newspaper Clarín said: “More than ever, the Argentine national team showed a variety of values, rare these days, both on and off the field. On and off the pitch, they taught some lessons and showed the face of the country that we want to see away from the football pitch.”
“Despite some unfortunate incidents in the last game, we were a polite and respectful team. We did not speak ill of our rivals or try to justify our mistakes by blaming others.”
British media reactions to Argentina’s actions vary widely. After Paredes’ red card, Wayne Rooney said: “Are you surprised? I’m not surprised. I’ve seen this before against Argentina.”
“That’s not the reaction you want. We saw some of the reaction after we eliminated England in the last round. It’s really sad. When you lose a football match, you walk away gracefully. I really feel sorry for their attitude.”
He added: “It’s a reaction to how they lose, fight and think out on the football pitch and in the end they fall back on it. The attitude of those two players is terrible.”
Enzo Fernandes was sent off for Argentina in extra time (Image: Getty Images)
Alan Shearer said: “Paredes threw two or three haymakers in somebody’s face. He was aiming at them. There’s 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 are ways to lose. We’ve seen it many times from Argentina. The reaction after the final whistle was terrible.”
Gary Neville also gave his view on the clash. He said: “They’re very competitive and I love that element of them, but (Paredes) has just had a disgraceful performance the last few games. Why did the referees allow him to continue doing this…”
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