Lionel Messi and Sergio Agüero did not hesitate to hide their
displeasure at the officiating of the Copa America semi-finals, which saw their
side (Argentina) lose to Brazil 2-0. They could not understand why the Video
Assistant Referee (VAR) system which had been heavily used at the tournament,
considerably impacting results, was not consulted in two penalty appeals that
were waved away. Uruguay had three of its goals ruled out in their
quarter-final exit to Peru due to VAR, numerous goals were disapproved after
lengthy VAR review stoppages in the group stage, and penalties awarded even
without foul appeals, but alas, VAR was a no-show during the Argentina - Brazil
game on Tuesday.
Messi, who is
not known for lashing out made his discontentment known without reserve. “They
were not better than us. They found the net early and the second goal came from
a penalty they didn’t award,” Messi said. “The officiating was crazy. There
were clear penalties, on Nicolas Otamendi, on Sergio Agüero.
“He
[the referee] was on their side. In every divided ball or dispute, he inclined
the pitch their way. It’s not an excuse, but the truth is that, in this Copa,
they kept on blowing for stupid things, for handballs, penalties. But today,
they didn’t even go to VAR when there were clear plays that should have been
looked at.”
Messi,
nonetheless was proud of his teammates and believes Argentina has better days
ahead. The Argentina captain said, “It was the best match we did in the Copa, against a Brazil that
has spectacular players in all its lines. These guys made a huge sacrifice.
They deserve respect. Argentina has the material to keep growing.”
A
furious Agüero told reporters, "They told us that VAR would be like a fifth referee but when
things turn out like this I'd rather it wasn't there.
"I was running into the area and Alves stopped me with his foot, it
was clear, so clear that Foyth stopped and waited for it to be given. VAR worked very well until today - incredible!"
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