“Argentina will be champions” - When Pepe hit out at referees with bold Lionel Messi claim after Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal suffered loss

Pepe was furious after Cristiano Ronaldo-led Portugal were knocked out of the 2022 World Cup as he took shots at Lionel Messi. The defender accused FIFA of appointing an Argentine referee for Portugal's quarter-final loss to Morocco to orchestrate a tournament win for La Albiceleste.

One day before Portugal's game against Morocco, Argentina beat the Netherlands via a penalty shootout after a 2-2 extra-time draw. Messi was critical of the Spanish referee officiating the quarter-final match.

Speaking to the media after the 1-0 loss to Morocco, Pepe, who announced his retirement from football on Thursday, August 8, claimed the referee was biased. He stated that the Argentine referee controlled the match and was not letting Portugal play their game.

Pepe also felt an Argentine referee shouldn't have officiated Portugal's game after Messi's criticism of the Spanish referee a day ago.

"It's unacceptable for an Argentine referee to referee our game. After what happened yesterday, with Messi talking, all of Argentina was talking and the referee comes here to blow the whistle. I'm not saying that he comes here conditioned ... but what did we play the second half? We weren't allowed to play the second half. I can bet that Argentina will be champions," Pepe said via the Guardian.

Portugal midfielder Bruno Fernandes also complained about the referee but did not mention Lionel Messi or Argentina. However, he believed that the official was not at the level needed to manage a FIFA World Cup game and said (via the Guardian):

"It's very weird that a ref officiates us from a country still left in the competition … Ours referee the Champions League, so they have the quality and level to be here. They don't referee the Champions League, they are not used to this type of games, they don't have the pace for this. They have clearly tilted the field against us. In the first half there is a clear penalty on me."

Cristiano Ronaldo-led Portugal were knocked out in the quarterfinals by Morocco, with Youssef En-Nesyri scoring the lone goal of the match in the first half.

The Netherlands manager also complained about FIFA's bias towards Lionel Messi and Argentina

Louis van Gaal also spoke about the refereeing at the FIFA World Cup 2022 and claimed that the Netherlands were robbed by the official against Argentina. He believed that Lionel Messi's teammate Leandro Paredes should have been sent off for kicking the ball towards the Dutch bench, but the official did nothing.

Van Gaal said:

"We were robbed by the referee vs Argentina. The facts are there. I can show you the videos. You think it's normal a player of Argentina can hit the ball against our bench without getting a red? And then there was the penalty we conceded."

Lionel Messi and Argentina went on to win the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. They defeated France in the penalty shootout in the final after a dramatic 3-3 draw.