Leandro Paredes branded a 'disgrace' as Argentina midfielder's 'embarrassing' behaviour overshadows Spain's World Cup celebrations

Argentina’s 1-0 extra-time defeat to Spain was marred by a violent post-match brawl immediately after referee Slavko Vincic blew the final whistle. Paredes was caught on camera grabbing Eric Garcia by the throat and throwing Gavi to the ground, while Nahuel Molina was seen striking Rodri as he ran to celebrate. This unsavoury behaviour sparked fierce condemnation from prominent English pundits, including Joe Hart, Wayne Rooney, Gary Neville, and Micah Richards, who branded the antics deeply embarrassing.

The television pundits did not hide their disgust at the Argentina players' failure to show basic sportsmanship after surrendering their world title, though captain Lionel Messi was widely praised for his class.

Highlighting this stark contrast in behaviour, BBCpundit Hart commented: "There was one man on the pitch who did have class and that was Lionel Messi, who shook hands with every one of those Spanish players. The game's done. They could have absolutely no complaints about what happened today. Disgusting behaviour."

Praising the performance of the newly crowned world champions, Hart also lauded La Roja, who secured the trophy courtesy of Ferran Torres' solitary strike, adding: "Spain fully deserve it. They have been absolutely superb all tournament. They have dominated all game against a rigid, rugged Argentina. The best team has won this World Cup."

Sharp criticism continued to mount given this aggressive temperament was nothing new for Lionel Scaloni's side, following similar scenes when they knocked England out in the semi-finals.

Reflecting on this pattern of behaviour, Rooney stated: "Does it surprise you? It doesn't surprise me. We've seen this with Argentina before. It's just not the reaction you want. We've seen some of the reaction after knocking England out in the last round. That's just sad. If you lose a game of football, be graceful and get out of there. It's really poor from them."

Pointing out that their physical aggression was merely a mask for their footballing deficiencies on the day, Rooney continued: "That's a reaction to them being outplayed, out-fought, out-thought on the football pitch, and then they resort to that at the end. It's poor from those two players."

Baffled by Paredes' lack of discipline throughout the latter stages of the tournament, Gary Neville added on ITV Sport: "They're very competitive and I love that element of them, but [Paredes] has just been a disgrace for the last couple of games, and why the referees have allowed him to continue doing what he is doing..."

Echoing those sentiments and calling out the unprofessional nature of the relentless standard of behaviour, Richards said on the BBC: "It's quite embarrassing really. In the game, they were just on the cusp every single time. Paredes doesn't need to do that, he's better than that, and it doesn't stop there - it keeps going and going and going. We all know what it's like to lose a game, we can be very frustrated, but this is not good enough - it's not a good look at all."

Detailing how football ultimately triumphed over negative tactics, former England full-back Lee Dixon also assessed the match: "You have to say, especially after those scenes just then, well done Spain. Football has been the winner, there's no doubt about that. They're a deserved team to win it on the day.

"Throughout the tournament they've gotten better and better, conceding one goal in a World Cup tournament just says everything you need to know about how organised and creative they are.

"They've got pace down the wings and they're good to watch. On the other hand, today, Argentina were just anti-football, and the scenes at the end, how Paredes is still on the pitch, I'll never know. I made out six or seven times he should have been sent off.

"[Messi's] legacy coming to an end. Wasn't as his best today, wasn't allowed to be."

The post-match altercations involving Paredes and Molina are highly likely to incur severe FIFA sanctions. Enzo Fernandez is also facing a ban after being sent off at the end of normal time for a second bookable offence. Meanwhile, Messi has yet to announce a decision on his international future, despite this tournament widely being tipped as his final World Cup appearance.