Argentina is one step away from defending the World Cup title. However, an iconic run that should have been celebrated is under scrutiny for preferential treatment, controversies, and other issues. With the discourse slowly dominating the buildup towards the final, a former USWNT icon explained how the issues might be perceived by the pros at the highest level.
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Megan Rapinoe and the present USWNT captain, Lindsey Heaps, were previewing the World Cup final on Rapinoe’s “A Touch More: The Beautiful Game” podcast on YouTube. Heaps inevitably asked whether the referees and FIFA were favoring Argentina, and Rapinoe gave her insight.
“In terms of the rigged conversation, you can see how the media discourse has changed. Everything feels like rigged or fake because everybody is saying that all the time,” she said. “Whether it is or it isn’t, it does kind of get in the air where the referees or the VAR or the vibe is flowing in one direction, or do teams just get the benefit of the doubt more than the other?”
“Whether it’s happening or not, if the other team felt that psychologically, it could have a little influence,” Rapinoe concluded.
Argentina has indeed had a slice of luck at this tournament. Many believe Lionel Messi should have been sent off against Algeria in Argentina’s opener at the World Cup after a studs-up challenge on Aissa Mandi. Algeria’s federation filed a formal complaint with FIFA over the no-card decision, and an ESPN VAR review panel concluded Messi “was fortunate that the outcome was not a red card.” There were other controversial referee calls and VAR decisions in their favor, too.
But truth be told, every so-called “big” team had questionable calls in their favor. From a heartbeat sensor detecting a hair touch to disallow Croatia’s late equalizer against Portugal to England scoring a goal after the ball allegedly touching the Spidercam in their quarterfinal win over Norway, several teams have benefited from calls that should have gone the other way.
This is where Rapinoe felt the constant discourse about one team could play into their opponents’ hands psychologically.
Spain’s Aymeric Laporte was critical of Argentina during his press conference ahead of the World Cup final, as shared by Marca.
“In recent matches we’ve seen things that really surprised us—things that were allowed to slide, especially with Argentina,” he said. “From the start of the tournament, we’ve been—well, I wouldn’t say “normal,” exactly, but we aren’t the type of players who go out to attack opponents or commit reckless fouls; I think we’re a pretty clean team in that regard.”
Laporte’s choice of words before the World Cup final certainly raised the heat, and it was the same kind of effect that Rapinoe didn’t want in soccer, especially from professionals.
