The referee selected for the Copa America final has sparked controversy due to his history with Lionel Messi, after the Argentine star previously clashed with the official.
The Copa America final, which will be played in the early hours of Monday, will be refereed by Raphael Claus, who previously had a heated confrontation with Lionel Messi a few years ago.
Messi and Argentina are about to create more history as they seek to become the first nation to defend the Copa América as world champions. Argentina will face Colombia after Crystal Palace’s Jefferson Lerma scored the only goal of their disputed semi-final against Uruguay.
Although Argentina enters the final as favorites, its fans have been furious with the referee’s selection. Claus and Messi met during Argentina’s matchup against Paraguay in 2020, when Messi became upset with Claus’s decisions and was seen shouting “twice you’ve screwed us,” after a series of controversial decisions that went against the Albiceleste.
Argentina drew 1-1 with Paraguay in the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying stage, when Messi was frustrated to see a goal disallowed after VAR intervention. Paraguay had opened the scoring with a penalty converted by Ángel Romero before Nicolás González equalized just before the break.
Fans have also been baffled by the decision to have a Brazilian referee in charge of a key Argentina match, given the long and bitter rivalry between South America’s two most successful soccer nations. However, one fan on social media pointed out that Brazil has had two Argentine referees in this year’s competition.
Claus has been a senior international referee since 2015 and is considered one of the best officials on the continent. The 44-year-old referee officiated two group stage matches at the 2022 World Cup, including England’s opening victory against Iran in Qatar. Previously, he refereed the group stage match between Mexico and Venezuela without incident.
Argentina secured their place in the final with a routine 2-0 victory over Canada, thanks to goals from Julián Álvarez of Manchester City and the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner. The world champions have conceded just once in their five matches of the tournament so far: a stoppage-time draw by Ecuador in the quarter-finals, before the Albiceleste won on penalties.
The end of Colombia’s semi-final battle against Uruguay was overshadowed by ugly scenes at the end of the half, when Liverpool striker Darwin Núñez was seen involved in an altercation with Colombian fans, as punches were seen thrown by multiple people in the footage shared on social networks. The problems began near where friends and family of the Uruguayan team were sitting.
In an interview with the media, Messi stated: “We trust in our preparation and in our game. “No matter who is refereeing, our focus is on winning the match and bringing the trophy home to our fans and to Argentina.”
The Copa América final promises to be an epic showdown of great interest to soccer enthusiasts around the world, eager to witness the outcome of this prestigious tournament.
