Spanish fans expressed their frustration towards FIFA President Gianni Infantino with sarcastic chants after a contentious decision during the match. An extra-time goal by Nico Williams was disallowed following a ‘soft’ foul call involving Nicolas Otamendi.
At a tense 0-0 deadlock in the early moments of extra-time, the Spanish winger seemed to have secured victory when he calmly placed the ball past goalkeeper Emi Martinez.
Yet, just as Williams reveled in what he thought was the decisive moment, Slovenian referee Slavko Vincic, officiating his first World Cup final, interrupted the celebrations with his whistle, declaring a foul.
Vincic determined that Mikel Merino had inadvertently stepped on Otamendi’s foot just before the goal, causing the former Manchester City defender to take a dramatic tumble.
Despite a review by VAR, the decision stood, igniting anger among the 80,000 fans present at the MetLife Stadium.
The thousands of Spaniards who flocked to New Jersey were heard chanting ‘Infantino’, not for the first time during the match, amid accusations that the World Cup has been ‘rigged’ in the favour of Lionel Messi and Co.
Nico Williams was left bemused after seeing a goal in extra-time of the World Cup final disallowed
It came after Mike Merino was deemed to have trampled on the toes of Nicolas Otamendi
Infantino sat in the a suite at the MetLife Stadium with Donald Trump – before the pair presented the two teams with their medals after the match
Commentating on the game for the BBC, Alan Shearer said there was ‘not enough’ contact to warrant a foul.
‘Was it just the way Mikel Merico went sliding in?’, he questioned. ‘That is not a foul for me.
‘The only thing I can see is there is a slight touch of the toes on Nicolas Otamendi’s toe, but not enough for me to give it as a free-kick.
‘Otamendi makes a meal of it and that’s what has won them the free-kick.’
The notion of a rigged World Cup is one which has plagued much of this summer, with fans questioning whether referees have been biased towards Messi in what is almost certainly his final major tournament.
The South Americans struggled on their route to the World Cup final, only narrowly scraping past Cape Verde, Egypt and Switzerland in their earlier knockout games.
The manner of those victories – in which Egypt had a goal controversially disallowed and the Swiss saw striker Breel Embolo sent off – resulted in huge backlash surrounding the officials.
Ex-Man City defender Manuel Akanji fumed after Switzerland were defeated by the Argentinians: ‘Every little thing was called against us’ and ‘I’ve never experienced such a one-sided game,’ before his manager Murat Yakin called the refereeing ‘incomprehensible’.
It came after Egypt winger Motafa Ziko argued: ‘This tournament has been fixed’, and his manager Hossam Hassan added: ‘This match was rigged, and the whole world saw it.’
FIFA’s chief refereeing officer Pierluigi Collina responded, stating that ‘nobody can question the integrity’ of the refereeing and ‘unfounded allegations have no place in our sport’.
Ferran Torres won the final for Spain with a powerful finish in the 106th-minute
It sparked jubilant scenes as Spanish fans back in Madrid celebrated wildly together
Argentina’s so-called luck, however, ultimately ran out in on Sunday night as Spain rallied after the disallowed goal to find a winner.
It came through Ferran Torres in the 106th minute. After a ball was swung in from the right, Nico Williams nodded a header down from the far post, which the Barcelona striker latched on to and fired into the roof of the net to spark jubilant scenes.
The South Americans applied pressure of their own in search of a goal late on and Tottenham Hotspur defender Marcos Senesi almost levelled from close range.
But, in the end, it wasn’t to be for Lionel Messi on what could his final appearance on football’s biggest stage as Lamine Yamal and his Spanish team-mates held on for a historic victory.
Joe Hart said on the BBC: ‘They were never rattled or under pressure. They haven’t nibbled once. They played beautiful football the entire time.
‘Yamal, at 19 years old, his confidence, the ways that he’s doing this. Everyone will be trying to get on his back and hate on him, but he’s got a Euros and World Cup. He kept so cool, kept his head, and had those standout moments.’
The match was, however, at times overshadowed by the antics of the Argentinians.
After taunting England’s stars in Atlanta on Wednesday, Argentina’s behaviour against Spain was dubbed ’embarrassing’ by pundits after the final whistle in New Jersey.
Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez saw red in the 90+3-minute for a late challenge on Pau Cabarsi before chaotic scenes were sparked on the pitch when Spain’s win was confirmed.
As the Spanish bench descended onto the pitch to celebrate, Argentinian substitute Leandro Paredes took issue with Barcelona midfielder Gavi.
The pair became embroiled in a row, causing Scaloni to intervene, before Paredes appeared to direct two punches at Gavi as he fell to the turf.
And, speaking on the BBC, ex-Man United striker Wayne Rooney was scathing in his criticism of Argentina’s behaviour not only on Sunday, but throughout the tournament.
He said: ‘It doesn’t surprise me. We’ve seen this from Argentina before. It’s just sad, very poor from them. If you lose a game of football, be graceful. It’s a reaction to them being outplayed. Enzo Fernandez has got what he deserves it’s well.’
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