The third quarterfinal of the FIFA World Cup 2022 will go down as one of the biggest upsets in footballing history. Morocco defeated Portugal 1-0 to become to be the first African team to reach the semifinals. The game was a battle of attrition where Portugal’s attacking starlet couldn’t unlock a formidable defensive force.
But after the game, two key Portugal players blamed the referee for their defeat. Veteran defender Pepe and star midfielder Bruno Fernandes expressed that the official during the game was from Argentina and hence he didn’t favour the Navegadores.
While talking to the media, the former Real Madrid defender deemed the appointment of an Argentine referee as ‘unacceptable'. He then questioned the decisions taken by the official in the second half. "It is unacceptable for an Argentine referee to officiate our game," Pepe said.
“After what happened yesterday, with [Lionel] Messi talking, all of Argentina talking and the referee comes here to blow the whistle. I'm not saying that he comes here conditioned... but what did we play in the second half?”
Pepe also went ahead and complained about not adding enough extra time to the game as he gave an example of the Moroccan keeper, who wasted time by laying on the ground with the ball. He said, “The goalkeeper dropped to the ground. He only gave eight minutes of added time. We worked seriously and the referee gives eight minutes? "The only team that played football was us. We are sad. We had the quality to win the World Cup and we didn't do it."
Similarly, Bruno Fernandes also called out the officials during the game and expressed that he wouldn’t be surprised if Argentina won the World Cup. The playmaker said: "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."