After Argentina’s devastating defeat in the World Cup final, two players were spotted snubbing the US President during the medal ceremony.
Lisandro Martinez and Cristian Romero were spotted not-so-subtly skipping a handshake with Donald Trump before shaking the hands of the two other hosting heads of state, Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney.
In protest of either the result or the widely documented alleged corruption that has plagued the competition, Manchester United centre-back Martinez decided not to shake hands with either FIFA boss Gianni Infantino or Trump during Argentina’s silver medal ceremony.
Unsurprisingly, Infantino also promised Trump the job of handing the victorious Spain captain Rodri the gold trophy.
Argentina players turned violent after their loss
While the champions, who won 1-0 in extra time, were celebrating their second World Cup win, some Argentina players pounced on their competition and viciously attacked them in anger.
Moments after the final whistle, the losing team’s Leandro Paredes launched himself at Spain’s Gavi. Then, Nahuel Molina appeared to throw a punch at one of the Spain subs running on to join in with his team-mates’ celebrations.
Tensions were particularly high as the game was set to be legendary soccer player Lionel Messi’s last appearance for his country in an international competition, so he was hoping to go out with a bang.
Many Argentina players were in tears after losing
The 39-year-old was even seen in tears looking at the crowd after the final whistle was blown. However, it was the team’s head coach who appeared the most emotional, even cutting a press conference short as he could not hold back the tears.
Lionel Scaloni, who guided the team to victory at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, questioned his future as the team’s most important player.
He said: “I feel the need to think because I don’t know if I’m going to be able to do something as big as this.
“We would have to talk about it. My place is everyone’s dream place. We tried until the very last moment to give our all as a coaching staff, the players too, and I think it’s only fair to consider it. This place is wonderful.
“I never imagined I’d be here. To move forward, a lot of things are needed. Above all, we need to reset, to form a group like this, which is unlikely to ever be formed again. It breaks my heart. I’m sorry.”
