José Mourinho on the refereeing in Argentina’s 3-2 victory over Cape Verde:
“We are watching a script, not a football match. Cape Verde did not just play against eleven men from Argentina tonight, they played against the referee, they played against the system, and they played against the entire agenda of the tournament.
When you are a small nation, you have to be perfect to win. But when you are Argentina, you are allowed to make mistakes because the whistle will always save you. Every 50/50 challenge went one way. Every time Cape Verde built momentum, there was a convenient foul given.
A 111th-minute own goal? The pressure was artificially created. It breaks my heart for Cape Verde because they were absolute warriors, but in modern football, being a warrior is not enough when the result has already been decided in an office.”
