Ferdinand: 'Punicking Argentina is a disgraceful decision'
"This is a disgraceful decision. VAR is there to prevent decisions like this," said Ferdinand angrily while commenting on the Argentina-Poland match in the last leg of Group C of the 2022 World Cup on the evening of November 30.
Minute 38 Messi jumped up to receive Julian Alvarez's cross. After touching the ball, the Argentina captain was hit in the face by goalkeeper Szczesny's hand. After consulting VAR and the video, referee Danny Makkelie blew the penalty for Argentina.
Former England midfielder Danny Murphy, who won the UEFA Cup with Liverpool in 2001, is of the same opinion as Ferdinand. According to him, Messi touched the ball first and received "a pat on the face", and that was not enough to catch Szczesny's fault.
All-time top scorer in the Premier League, Alan Shearer also said: "It's ridiculous that both the referee and the VAR referee consider this a penalty."
The majority of fans on Twitter share the same opinion as the experts. They said the referee made a bad decision, and justice was served after Szczesny's "excellent save". "You really have to question how a room full of VAR referees feels like it needs to be looked at, and then a referee on the pitch decides it's a penalty," one fan wrote.
Messi took responsibility for the penalty, but the shot to the right corner was pushed away by goalkeeper Szczesny with one hand. However, Argentina still won 2-0 thanks to Alexis MacAllister in the 46th minute and Julian Alvarez in the 67th minute. They thus achieved six points from three games, finishing at the top of Group C.
Poland also won tickets to continue, thanks to the second place with four points. They are equal in points but more than Mexico by difference.
On December 2, Argentina will play the round of 16 against Australia. Then one day, Poland meets France. This is the first time Poland has entered the round of 16 of the World Cup since 1986. From 1990 to 2018, they participated three times and were eliminated in the group stage.
The missed penalty ended Messi's seven-match scoring streak for Argentina. This is also his longest series of goals in the international arena. In the first two matches of the 2022 World Cup, the Argentina captain scored one goal.
