Diego Lugano, a former Uruguayan international, has accused FIFA of assisting Lionel Messi and Argentina in winning the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Argentina defeated France in the competition’s final via penalty shootouts.
Messi, 35, won the tournament’s Golden Ball after scoring seven goals and registering three assists.
Meanwhile, Argentina was awarded five penalties during the World Cup, four of which Messi converted.
Lugano, on the other hand, believes Argentina was aided by FIFA due to Messi’s global popularity.
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“There is no doubt that they [FIFA] assisted him [Messi]. Argentina had its merits, but of the five penalties, four were clearly not justified, according to Lugano, who spoke to Futnbl por Carve TiaDiaria.
“The truth is that they were completely coerced. But that’s to Messi’s credit, as he moves a lot around the world.”
“You see [Mike] Tyson in the Messi shirt, you see Tiger Woods, you see Roger Federer,” he added. Do you believe FIFA is blind to this and that it is ineffective? The merit of Messi, and later, the merit of Argentina, who knew how to exploit that.”
