Portugal stars rage against the referee after the World Cup
Ricardo Horta, Pepe, Facundo Tello
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Portugal felt unfairly treated by the Argentine referee when they lost to Morocco. Bruno Fernandes and Pepe were correspondingly angry.
The Portuguese didn’t cope well with their exit from the World Cup after losing 1-0 to Morocco. While Cristiano Ronaldo burst into tears and fled into the dressing room, Bruno Fernandes and Pepe raged at the referee team.
It was Portugal’s dream to reach the final of this World Cup with and for Cristiano Ronaldo. It was always emphasized that the team can compete with all other competitors in this tournament.
But on Saturday afternoon they were defeated by Morocco, who became the first African country to reach the semi-finals of a World Cup.
The frustration was correspondingly deep – which the players then directed to the referee team.
Fernandes criticizes the alleged lack of quality of the referees
For Bruno Fernandes, for example, it was quickly clear after the game (via Cope.es): “These referees don’t have the level for these games!”
“I’ll say what I think – and then you can fuck me…” the playmaker rumbled on. In his opinion, the referees had influenced the game negatively and to the detriment of Portugal.
“It’s very strange to have a referee who still has his own country in the competition but there is no Portuguese referee anymore. Our referees whistle in the Champions League, so they have the quality and level to be here. If they don’t whistle in the Champions League, they don’t have the level for it. They decided the game today,” the 28-year-old drew his personal conclusion.
He was also annoyed that he had not been awarded the penalty kick. “I’m alone and I would never let myself fall if I was alone in front of the goalkeeper and I could shoot at goal,” he raged.
Pepe: Title can already be awarded to Argentina – coach Santos without referee frustration
After the game, he was not alone with this assessment – and especially the reference to Argentina, his country of origin. Defense chief Pepe was also upset and angry.
“It’s unacceptable that an Argentinian referee whistles on us! Especially after Messi complained. The referee wasn’t the right man for the game,” he blew the same horn (via picture).
He also complained about what he considered to be much too little stoppage time. After all, the Moroccans “played for time all the time”. The eight minutes were “far too little”.
Given Messi’s statements and the performance of the referee team, Pepe insisted: “From what I saw today, they can now award the title to Argentina.”
Her own coach said the opposite: “Referee? I don’t think so. He could have called foul in some situations, but in general I don’t think so. We could have done more, we couldn’t do it, we shouldn’t call the referee for that make responsible.”
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This article was originally published on 90min.de as Portugal stars rage against the referee after the World Cup released.