Lionel Messi broke away from an interview to call Wout Weghorst a “fool” after the Argentina legend engaged in a heated argument with Netherland boss Louis van Gaal.
Argentina overcame the Netherlands on penalties after a fiery 120 minutes which saw 15 yellow cards brandished by the referee.
Messi, who scored a penalty in normal time and in the shootout, was pictured cupping his ears at Van Gaal and his assistant Edgar Davids before engaging in a tense discussion with the pair.
The Paris Saint-Germain star also couldn’t resist having a go at two-goal Netherland hero Wout Weghurst in an interview, shouting to the striker off-camera: “What are you looking at fool/stupid?. Get back there.”
Messi, who was named as the Player of the Match, was critical of the style of football Van Gaal adopted towards the end of the game.
He said: “Van Gaal says that they play good football, but what he did was put tall people and hit long balls.”
The Argentina skipper was also asked about the referee’s performance in the quarter-final, claiming he didn’t want to talk about the referee before talking about the referee.
He added: “I don’t want to talk about the referee because you can’t be honest. If you talk they sanction you, FIFA must think about it, they can’t put a referee like that for these instances, they can’t put a referee who isn’t up to the task.”
Despite all the controvery, Messi was delighted to have beaten the Netherlands and keep his World Cup dream alive.
Messi said: “A lot of joy, a lot of happiness. We didn’t have to go to extra time or penalties, we had to suffer. But we got through and it is something impressive… We are enjoying a lot with the people, going step by step. We are very happy.”
Van Gaal looked a broken man in his post-match press conference and responded in kind to a question about the rising tension during the game.
Van Gaal revealed: “I speak a little Spanish, after the game the goalkeeper of Argentina told me that I spoke too much.”
Emiliano Martinez admitted as much, claiming: “I heard Van Gaal saying, ‘We’ve got an advantage in penalties. If we go to penalties we win.’ I think he needs to keep his mouth shut.”
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