- Eventful quarter-final encounter in Qatar
- Tempers boiled over on and off the field
- Albiceleste went on to claim global crown
WHAT HAPPENED? A fiery contest in Qatar between the Albiceleste and Oranje delivered 18 yellow cards and one red, with the eventual winners of the entire competition ultimately prevailing in a nerve-shredding penalty shootout. Tempers threatened to boil over again at the final whistle, with Dutch striker Weghorst stalking Messi down the tunnel and lingering in his general vicinity during post-match interviews – leading to Argentina stars confronting him and Messi to say: "What are you looking at bobo (fool)? Get back there."
The full incident has now been released online, which shows exactly what led to their tense exchange. The Dutchman is seen offering his hand to Messi in the tunnel, but the Argentine snubbed his olive branch. Weghorst then expressed his anger to some of Messi's team-mates, saying: "I was waiting for him and wanted to give him a hand. And he’s doing that? That’s disrespectful."
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THE BIGGER PICTURE: Messi has since said of his altercation with Weghorst: “I don't like what I did. I don't like the 'keep moving' and all that. But well, they are moments of huge tension, huge nervousness and everything happens very fast. One reacts the way one reacts, but nothing was planned. It just happened. I don't like to leave that image, but these are things that happen.”
WHAT NEXT? Weghorst, who is now on loan at Manchester United, is still referred to by Argentine team-mate Lisandro Martinez as “bobo”, with the fallout from a memorable encounter that gripped a global audience rumbling on long after the contest in question came to a close.
