Argentina supporters have hit back in a unique way after French fans' World Cup final protestations, launching a "France stop crying" petition of their own.
More than 220,000 people (at the time of writing) have signed a petition from French outlet MesOpinions calling for the 2022 World Cup final to be replayed. Argentina won the match on penalties after a dramatic 3-3 draw, but France were unhappy with a number of decisions made by referee Szymon Marciniak.
Marciniak himself responded to questions about players being on the field illegally when Argentina's third goal was scored, pointing out that the same applied to one of the French efforts. And now it's the turn of the victors to have their say in the form of a counter-petition.
As reported by Goal, the "France stop crying" petition was launched by a fan named Valentin Gomez. Within a few hours, the change.org petition reportedly had more than 65,000 signatures.
“Ever since we won the World Cup final, the French have not stopped crying, complaining and not accepting that Argentina is world champion," Gomez wrote. "This petition aims for the French to stop crying and accept that Messi is the best player in history and has Mbappe as his son.”
Mbappe scored a hat-trick in the final, including two penalties, to finish the World Cup as top scorer with eight goals. However, Messi - who scored seven times in total - was named player of the tournament.
What do you make of the rival petitions? Have your say in the comments section
Messi scored Argentina's opener from the penalty spot in the World Cup final, before adding his second of the day during extra-time. The award of the spot-kick was among the contentious decisions highlighted by some France supporters, who were upset with the decision to penalise Ousmane Dembele for a challenge on Angel Di Maria.
Di Maria made it 2-0 before the break, only for Mbappe to strike twice in two minutes to force extra-time. The PSG star completed his hat-trick with just a few minutes of extra-time remaining, after a handball from Gonzalo Montiel, but the Argentina defender gained revenge by scoring the winner in the shoot-out.
Now the dust has settled, Messi and Mbappe are due to go back to being club team-mates at Paris Saint-Germain. The Ligue 1 leaders are back in action against Strasbourg on December 28, while the new year will bring a Champions League last-16 clash with Bayern Munich.
Messi now looks set to extend his stay with Les Parisiens beyond the end of this season, despite suggestions of a move to Inter Miami. "Club and player will do what is right and in the best interests of both parties," PSG chief Nasser Al Khelaifi said of Messi's future during the World Cup. "We are all very happy right now, which is great"
