Disgruntled Portugal players have suggested Lionel Messi's Argentina are being looked upon favourably at the World Cup after Cristiano Ronaldo's dream came to a crushing end against Morocco.
Defender Pepe certainly seems to believe there is a conspiracy against FIFA it if his post-match comments are anything to go by after his nation were eliminated from the tournament following a shock 1-0 defeat at the quarter-final stage. The former Real Madrid man bemoaned: "It’s unacceptable for an Argentine referee to referee our game.
"After what happened yesterday, with Messi talking, all of Argentina was talking and the referee comes here to blow the whistle. I’m not saying that he comes here conditioned...but what did we play the second half? We weren’t allowed to play the second half.
"I can bet that Argentina will be champions," he added furiously. Pepe's anger surrounding the fact Facundo Tello, an Argentine, was allowed to officiate a Portugal fixture was shared by Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes.
The 28-year-old claimed: "We already know how it works … before the game we already knew what we were in for, and what kind of referee we would find.
"I don’t know if they’re going to give the trophy to Argentina. I don’t care, I’m going to say what I think and screw them. It’s very weird that a ref officiates us from a country still in the competition... clearly, they’ve tilted the field against us.
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"Unfortunately, in these competitions, where there are no Portuguese referees, there are referees from teams that are still in the competition."
However, it is not as if Argentina have come away with no complaints about the officiating of their own. In the aftermath of their penalty shootout victory over the Netherlands, Messi had plenty to say about Spanish referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz.
"[Netherlands’ equaliser] came from a set piece that I don’t think was a foul,” Messi said. "I don’t want to speak about referees because you can be sanctioned. I don’t think he was up to the standard, he was very harmful for us."
Shot-stopper Emiliano Martinez was the hero in the end for the Albicelestes after saving two of the penalties he faced in the shoot-out, but he was left scathing over the officiating.
"The ref was just giving everything for them, he just wanted them to score, that’s basically it. So, hopefully we don’t have that ref anymore. He’s useless."
Argentina will meet Croatia in their semi-final clash on Tuesday night as Messi aims to sign off his World Cup legacy by going the distance, but for Ronaldo it all ended in tears.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner was filmed crying from the pitch all the way down the tunnel as he has fallen short in his ultimate goal to lift the World Cup trophy at least once in his illustrious career.
