{"id":39107,"date":"2026-07-12T17:26:30","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T17:26:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/12\/lionel-messi-argues-and-accuses-world-cup-referee-of-conduct-soccer-sports\/"},"modified":"2026-07-12T17:26:30","modified_gmt":"2026-07-12T17:26:30","slug":"lionel-messi-argues-and-accuses-world-cup-referee-of-conduct-soccer-sports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/12\/lionel-messi-argues-and-accuses-world-cup-referee-of-conduct-soccer-sports\/","title":{"rendered":"Lionel Messi argues and accuses World Cup referee of conduct | Soccer | Sports"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p data-mce-linkchecker-status=\"valid\">Alexis Mac Allister put his country ahead with a precise corner kick just 10 minutes into the match, before Dan Ndoye equalized midway through the second half. Julian \u00c1lvarez and Lautaro Mart\u00ednez were crucial for the South American team in extra time, and Argentina will face England in the semi-finals of the competition on Wednesday, July 15th. Messi played a key role in his country&#8217;s victory, but the 39-year-old found himself at odds with referee Pinheiro midway through the match.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>The Inter Miami attacker took exception to the way the referee spoke to him before the Swiss free kick. Messi was positioned within the Argentine defensive wall when Coach Pi\u00f1eiro instructed him to retreat to the required distance.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>However, the Portuguese&#8217;s attitude and body language towards Messi seemed to irritate him. After the free-kick, a frustrated Messi confronted Pi\u00f1eiro and apparently told him: &#8220;Speak to me. Don&#8217;t disrespect me. Speak to me. I spoke to you.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>It was a moment typical of Messi, who has spent much of his career letting his football speak for itself. But little seemed to faze him as he remained calm and completed the entire 120 minutes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>This follows Messi&#8217;s comments on Argentina&#8217;s semi-final against England after their win over Switzerland, describing Thomas Tuchel&#8217;s men as &#8220;strong&#8221; as they prepare for their first encounter with the Three Lions. &#8220;Everything I saw and remember (about Argentina vs. England in 1986) came from videos and images that Argentines are constantly watching and reliving,&#8221; he told reporters.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p data-mce-linkchecker-status=\"valid\">&#8220;But I think this group is used to playing a game of football regardless of the opponent. Obviously playing against England is special because they are a strong country. And any game against a strong country is always special.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>&#8220;Personally, it&#8217;s my first time playing against them. I&#8217;ve played against everyone except England, so I&#8217;ll be happy in that sense.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>&#8220;And we will experience it for what it is: a World Cup semi-final against a strong, great team. And we will try to arrive in the best possible condition to compete again.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Argentina will face England on Wednesday at 8pm BST in Atlanta, Georgia, with the winner facing either France or Spain in the 2026 World Cup final.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.express.co.uk\/sport\/football\/2228271\/Lionel-Messi-World-Cup-Switzerland-Argentina-Referee\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Alexis Mac Allister put his country ahead with a precise corner kick just 10 minutes into the match, before Dan Ndoye equalized midway through the second half. Julian \u00c1lvarez and Lautaro Mart\u00ednez were crucial for the South American team in extra time, and Argentina will face England in the semi-finals of the competition on Wednesday,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39108,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-39107","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-matches"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Lionel Messi argues and accuses World Cup referee of conduct | Soccer | Sports - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/12\/lionel-messi-argues-and-accuses-world-cup-referee-of-conduct-soccer-sports\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lionel Messi argues and accuses World Cup referee of conduct | Soccer | Sports - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Alexis Mac Allister put his country ahead with a precise corner kick just 10 minutes into the match, before Dan Ndoye equalized midway through the second half. 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