World Cup 2014: Lionel Messi Had it Easy From the Referee, Says Belgium Coach
Argentina ousted Belgium 1-0 to advance to the semis for the first time in 24 years. Gonzalo Higuain scored the winner in the eighth minute.
Belgium coach Marc Wilmots said here on Saturday that Italian referee Nicola Rizzou had gone easy on Messi during the World Cup quarterfinal. (Argentina in First Semis Since 1990)
Argentina ousted Belgium 1-0 to advance to the semis for the first time in 24 years. Gonzalo Higuain scored the winner in the eighth minute, reports Xinhua.
Wilmots told the post-game media conference: "I don't want to be a cry baby, but every time there is a little foul it was always in favour of Argentina. Every time something happened with Messi, the referee gave him a free kick."
"I notice he made three fouls and no yellow card; we made one foul and one yellow card," Wilmots added.
Higuain's goal came when Belgium centre-back and captain Vincent Kompany was caught out of position.
"We make a small, small mistake - Vincent comes out of position and they score," said Wilmots, adding, "We were not impressed by the Argentinians. They were just an ordinary team. They took 30 seconds to take a throw-in and the referee didn't do anything."