The World Cup final descended into chaos after the final whistle as punches were thrown and Argentina’s Leandro Paredes grabbed Spain’s Eric Garcia by the throat.
Spain won a bruising final 1-0 courtesy of Ferran Torres’ extra-time goal and tensions spilt over as the Spanish substitutions charged onto the pitch to celebrate their second ever world title.
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Argentina defender Nahuel Molina appeared to punch one of the Spanish players in the stomach.
“It sounds as though Argentina’s Nahuel Molina swung an arm at a Spain player as they ran to celebrate the World Cup win,” Sky Sports’ Dan Long said from New Jersey’s MetLife stadium.
“That’s grim. Nobody likes a sore loser.”
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While Paredes snapped in a moment of madness and rightfully copped a red card once the game was done.
As well as the altercation with Garcia, the 32-year-old Boca Juniors midfielder wrestled Gavi to the ground, pushed the Spaniard in the face and appeared to throw his boot out at 21-year-old Barcelona midfielder.
“Paredes threw two or three haymakers into someone’s face. He went for them. There is no place or space for that,” England legend Alan Shearer said on the BBC.
“We know how much it means to them and we know how much it hurts to lose, but there is a way to lose. Too many times we have seen that from Argentina. The reaction after the final whistle is terrible.”
Enzo Fernandez sent off late on! | 00:27
Manchester United great Gary Neville said on ITV: “I love the competitiveness of the Argentines but Paredes has been a disgrace the last couple of games.”
Speaking after the match, Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni praised his side’s response to the defeat.
“We are gracious in victory, and we must be gracious in defeat. Today, we are showing that we know how to lose,” he said.
“We lost the match and we accept it, but that doesn’t mean we stop living or forget everything we did to get here.”
The violent post-game scenes came after the Argentines unleashed a barrage of dangerous
challenges throughout the match.
They paid the price in the 93rd minute when Enzo Fernandez was sent off and former Ghana international Kevin-Prince Boateng believes Lionel Messi’s teammates acting like hatchet met let the legend down.
The tears of a footballing icon | 00:21
“This is what they do. They always play on the edge,” Boateng said on SBS.
“With his experience and his quality, you don’t need to foul there. The game was almost over. They need you because you’re the engine room of this midfield and then it is difficult to come back. Spain can score easily because they have the quality to do so.
“To see these scenes after the game, the sore losing, it is not what Leo Messi deserves.”
While the reaction to post-game scenes was fierce, there was also a clear sentiment that the rightful champion was crowned.