The semifinal clash between England and Argentina was as heated as expected. English and Argentinian players clashed on the field every now and then, and the fans, too, had a few physical altercations as well. If you thought that the heat would come down over the next few days, think again. The on-field rivalry seems to be taking a turn into geopolitics, with an English journalist’s off-field dig at Argentina causing huge outrage.
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“I suppose we can let the Argentines celebrate a little. That victory won’t change anything, will it? Here’s the thing: when youth unemployment is as high as it is in Argentina, when you have three-digit inflation, when you’ve gone through so many hardships… football is all they have,” Futbol de Inglaterra quoted a journalist named Tim Harwood.
“I like to think that we have other things in our lives, a few at least. You see all those caravans in the city centers and all that, and it’s like ‘yeah, of course they can have big celebrations because none of them have jobs… Literally, football is all they have in their lives. I like to think that in England, we have many other things to celebrate too.”
While the English fans and journalists have a few reasons to protest against Argentina, especially after the Argentinian players showed controversial posters after winning the game, taking a dig at their economy for fans celebrating the win seems entirely off-track.
Currently, Argentina’s unemployment rate stands at 7.8%. Their annual inflation rate stands at 33.5%, with monthly consumer prices rising by 1.9%. Surely the economy needs correction, but that is not stopping Lionel Messi and his team from dominating in the World Cup. The political rivalry between England and Argentina goes back to their Falklands dispute.
The fans are also left stunned by the English journalist’s dig at Argentina.
The fans are left unimpressed with the dig at Argentina
“Losing a match and coming out with the socioeconomic situation of countries is terribly loserish. Same as Holland when they lost in 2010. England was dying to reach the final. They lost. You accept it and don’t be ridiculous. It’s like the Madrid fan who never saw the match when they lose,” one fan said.
“They seriously think people don’t work or anything. The level of misinformation is appalling!” Another Argentina fan added.
“There is no greater slave than he who values his life based on his production,” one user took a dig at the journalist.
One fan decided to give it back in the same style: “The bitterness of a sore loser spoke. The country that started football won a controversial World Cup in 1966, never won it again and has never won the European Championship. I mean… It makes me feel bad.”
“It did get heated,” another user shared about the scenes from the game.
