World Cup viewers and pundits were left baffled after Lionel Messi was presented with a robe which covered up much of his Argentina shirt ahead of the trophy World Cup trophy lift.
After a stunning penalty shootout win over France in the final, Messi and his Argentina teammates could not wait to lift the famous trophy and celebrate winning the country's first World Cup since 1986 together.
With his teammates waiting on the podium, Messi was made to wait a little longer to lift the trophy which had eluded him in four previous World Cups, and some fans and pundits were left confused after the 35-year-old Argentine was presented with a traditional Arab bisht, a men's cloak of black and gold design, by the Emir of Qatar - Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani - which covered much of his match shirt. The garment is something which dignitaries wear over a thawb, an ankle-length robe, on formal occasions.
Messi was aided in putting on the item of clothing as BBC commentator Guy Mowbray declared it "the night the true king of football is coronated", and he then proceeded to edge towards his team with the trophy in hand while wearing traditional Arab dress.
New York Times journalist Tariq Panja said on Twitter: "Something a little strange about Messi being dressed in Bisht, that black cloak that the Emir of Qatar dressed him in before lifting the World Cup. Qatar wants this to be its moment as much as it is Messi’s and Argentina’s."
Gary Lineker, who was fronting the BBC's coverage of the game, was disappointed by the decision, commenting: "This is a magic moment, seems a shame in a way that they've covered up Messi in his Argentina shirt."
Former Argentina defender Pablo Zabaleta agreed, adding: "Just, why? No reason to do that."
Messi was presented with the trophy by FIFA president Gianni Infantino, and those on punditry duties weren't convinced he was going to hand it over at one point.
"I didn't think Infantino was going to let it go," said Alan Shearer, with Lineker remarking: "No one marked him that closely in the game! He is good in tight spaces so he managed to get away from him in the end and lift that wonderful trophy."
Moments after the trophy lift, Messi had taken the robe off and a third star had been added to his Argentina shirt to mark the country's third World Cup win. Lineker added: "Three stars on Messi's shirt, I think I spot. And he's taken the little robe off."
Read more: Golden Boot winner at World Cup 2022 confirmed plus final standings
In a truly dramatic game, Messi gave his side the lead from the penalty spot before Angel Di Maria made it 2-0 in the first half, before Kylian Mbappe levelled the scores with an incredible quickfire double with 10 minutes left to send the game to extra-time.
A breathless half an hour of extra-time saw Messi grab another as he scrambled the ball into the French net to seemingly win the final for Argentina, before Mbappe came to the French rescue again, taking the game to penalties with a historic World Cup final hat-trick to make it 3-3.
Messi coolly converted his penalty, but Emi Martinez was the hero for Argentina in the shootout, saving one before Gonzalo Montiel converted from the spot to seal the World Cup for the South Americans with a 4-2 win on penalties.
READ NEXT:
Eni Aluko defended after World Cup mistake live on air sees her ridiculed and abused
