Argentinian media have bizarrely described their national football team as ‘polite and respectful’ despite widespread global backlash for instigating a shameful brawl at the end of the World Cup final. Having failed to defend the title they won four years ago, the Argentina team began physical altercations with their Spanish counterparts.
After Ferran Torres’ goal secured victory and the title for Spain, several players became embroiled in fights on the pitch. Leandro Paredes and Nahuel Molina were both seen striking Spanish players, and commentators at MetLife Stadium initially reported that the former had been sent off, only for that message to be removed.
Enzo Fernandez was also given a red card during the match after an appalling tackle on Pau Cubarsi.
Nevertheless, newspapers in the South American country maintain that the squad conducted themselves admirably.
A report from Argentine publication Clarin 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 assessment of Argentina’s conduct differs markedly within the UK media. Speaking after 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.”
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 was equally damning, adding: “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 ugly scenes, saying: “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..”