“Talk less, man,” said Argentine defender Nicolas Otamendi to Rodri, who was recognized as the best player of the championship.
“You cried all week. Complained all week. You and (Aymeric) Laporte. Both of you. That’s not how you behave. You spent the whole week whining about the referees, buddy,” continued N. Otamendi.
“I respect you,” replied Rodri, but N. Otamendi was relentless: “But you shouldn’t talk before the match, you understand?”
“What did I say? What did A. Laporte say?” asked Rodri.
N. Otamendi then pointed his finger at A. Laporte and exclaimed: “Didn’t you see what he said this week?!”
The anger of the Argentine national team defender was likely triggered by A. Laporte’s comments about the Argentine playing style and referee Slavko Vinčić.
“I don’t care that they play tough, as long as it’s part of football. If the referee does his job, I won’t have any problems,” said A. Laporte before the final.
“It’s true that in recent matches we have seen things that surprised us. Situations that went unpunished. Especially speaking about Argentina. A team that likes to send messages with their fouls. This should not be allowed in football. Especially in tournaments of this size, because it can provoke, cause loss of self-control.”
“The referee’s job is to control such situations so that the match does not get out of control. If one or two players can do whatever they want, the match turns into chaos,” noted A. Laporte.
“From the start of the championship, we have played very fairly, respectfully. We don’t run around the pitch kicking opponents, we don’t make reckless fouls. I think we will behave the same in the final. But, of course, a lot can happen because of refereeing.”
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We remind you that the Spaniards, who became world champions for the second time, defeated Argentina 1-0 in extra time in the grand final, with Argentina receiving two red cards in this match (one of them after the game).
