Portugal eliminated from the World Cup
The Portugal national team was eliminated from the 2022 Qatar World Cup in a historic match that gave their opponent, Morocco, their first-ever qualification to the tournament's semifinals. After the game, defender Pepe criticized the refereeing, considering that the referee should not have been the Argentine Facundo Tello.
"He did not see the play that could have been a penalty for Bruno Fernandes. We had the ability to win this World Cup. Then, we had the feeling of the arrogance of the refereeing team. Argentina will be the champion. There were five Argentine referees... What more can I say? Let's see what happens," declared Pepe to RTP3.
"We received a goal that we did not expect, but I have to say that this is stronger than me and I will have to say it. It is unacceptable for an Argentine referee to officiate our match. After what happened yesterday, with Messi," added the defender, referring to 'Lio's' criticism of the refereeing a day before.
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"Talking, talking, all of Argentina, and the referee comes here to whistle. I'm not saying he came conditioned... but what did we play in the second half? The goalkeeper threw himself to the ground. There were only eight minutes left of injury time. We worked seriously and the referee? Eight minutes? We didn't play anything in the second half," Pepe concluded.
With this tough defeat, the Portuguese team practically loses any chance of seeing their star, Cristiano Ronaldo, win the World Cup title. At 37 years old, the 'Bicho' has very few options to reach the next edition of the tournament, as he is currently without a club.
Bruno Fernandes also criticizes the referee
Another player dissatisfied with Tello's performance was forward Bruno Fernandes. The Manchester United striker had strong words towards the referee and, like his teammate, hinted that Argentina might be favored.
"I don't know if they are going to give the cup to Argentina (...). I don't care, I'm going to say what I think and **** it. It is very strange that in our game there is a referee from a team that is still in the Cup and there is no Portuguese, because if they have the level for the Champions League, they also have it to be here. Today's referees are not accustomed to the Champions League," the player shot.
With information from EFE