200,000 people have signed a petition asking for a rerun of the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar to prevent Lionel Messi and his Argentina teammates from winning their third championship.
In perhaps one of the greatest finals in history on Sunday, Lionel Messi and his teammates defeated France on penalties following a thrilling 3-3 draw. For the first time since 1986, Argentina won the championship, preventing Les Blues from defending their title.
Since then, Lionel Messi and his team have been celebrating around South America while flaunting the trophy.
Gonzalo Montiel won the penalty shootout, but Lionel Messi and former Arsenal goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez received praise for their heroics throughout the Middle East.
Lionel Messi, the Golden Ball winner, made World Cup history by scoring a double in each of the following: the group stage, the round of 16, the quarterfinal, the semifinal, and the championship match.
The final should be replayed, according to a petition on the French website MesOpinions, given the week’s worth of celebrations in South America.
While Kylian Mbappe became the first person since Sir Geoff Hurst in 1966 to score a hat-trick in the World Cup final, it was insufficient to stop Lionel Messi from winning the sport’s highest honor.
The petition’s thousands of signatories are reportedly dissatisfied with how Argentina scored its first two goals.
It is suggested that Lionel Messi’s team shouldn’t have received a penalty when Angel Di Maria was struck by Ousmane Dembele.
A further source of dissatisfaction is the alleged lack of punishment for Cristian Romero’s foul on Kylian Mbappe before Angel Di Maria’s goal.
A few French people believe that Lionel Messi’s second goal in extra time should not have stood because substitutes were celebrating before the ball was even kicked in.
Even though Mbappe’s quick-fire double helped France rally, Kingsley Coman and Aurélien Tchouaméni missed in the shootout to give Argentina a third consecutive championship.
The French have a history of being unkind in the face of defeat. A petition was only started 18 months ago after Switzerland eliminated the 2018 world champions from Euro 2020. Some people thought Yann Sommer had crossed the goal line before stopping Kylian Mbappe’s penalty attempt.
Football petitions are nothing new. After a contentious 2-2 draw with Tottenham in August 2022, Chelsea supporters started a petition to stop Anthony Taylor from officiating their matches.
Argentina supporters can relax knowing that the Jules Rimet trophy is theirs to keep because requests for replays based on arbitrary refereeing decisions are rarely granted.
Argentina defeated France in spot-kick penalties on December 18, 2022, to bring the FIFA World Cup to a dramatic conclusion.
Argentina players continue their fervent celebrations while France players have since sent out apologies letters. With the Premier League due to resume on Boxing Day, both teams have returned home as the players get ready to head back to their respective clubs.
