Messi's Attempt To Get Spain Star Sent Off Gets Brutal Verdict By Rooney

Argentina football team superstar Lionel Messi's attempt to get Spain defender Marc Cucurella sent off during the FIFA World Cup 2026 final did not go down well with former footballers. During the second half, Argentina suffered a massive setback as Enzo Fernandez was shown the red card following a rash tackle on Pau Cubarsi. A heated altercation followed and replays showed Cucurella briefly covered his mouth while speaking to Messi. Under the new FIFA rules, a player is sent off if he covers his mouth while talking to the opponents in a heated situation and Messi quickly told the referee about the incident. However, referee Slavko Vincic was not convinced and no card was shown to the Spanish defender. Spain went on to become world champions after winning the match 1-0 and Messi faced a lot of criticism for his attempt to get Cucurella sent off.

Former England captain Wayne Rooney called it 'sad' and was not happy with Messi's conduct.

“Argentina play like that, we know that's what they do. But the one thing you want is good sportsmanship, and that was sad to see Lionel Messi doing that,” Rooney said on BBC.

Rooney's England teammate Joe Hart also echoed similar sentiments. “Oh wow! Wow! Yeah, I didn't enjoy that at all from Lionel Messi. You realise how on top Spain are if even Lionel Messi is reverting to that,” said Hart.

Meanwhile, Argentina came under heavy criticism for their conduct after losing the FIFA World Cup 2026 final, with sections of the football fraternity branding the runners-up "classless" after players turned their backs during Spain's trophy celebrations and fans chanted Lionel Messi's name while Rodri collected the tournament's Golden Ball award, reported Goal.com.

Spain defeated defending champions Argentina 1-0 after extra time at the New York New Jersey Stadium on Sunday (local time), with Ferran Torres scoring the decisive goal in the 106th minute to secure La Roja's second FIFA World Cup title and extend their unbeaten run to a European-record 38 matches.

The post-match scenes, however, became a major talking point.

After collecting their silver medals, Argentina's players did not remain to applaud the newly crowned champions. Instead, Lionel Messi and his teammates walked to the far side of the pitch as Spain prepared to lift the World Cup trophy, declining to form a guard of honour after Spain had applauded the Argentine squad while they received their medals.

The atmosphere grew more tense when Spain midfielder Rodri was presented with the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player, with Argentina supporters inside the stadium chanting Messi's name during the presentation.

(With ANI inputs)

Source: NDTV Trending