This was Lionel Messi’s moment. At least it was supposed to be.
But the football world claimed it was spoiled after the Argentina superstar was forced to wear a black robe during the trophy presentation.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who has not been a stranger to controversy during this year’s World Cup, was also criticised for not giving Messi his time in the spotlight.
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Messi’s Argentina won a thrilling World Cup in the early hours of Monday morning [AEDT], with the 35-year-old scoring twice and converting his penalty in a shoot-out win over France.
It was a particularly important moment in Messi’s career, finally adding the World Cup to his accomplished resume that includes seven Ballon D’ors and four Champions League trophies.
So, naturally, the football world wanted to see Messi soak up every minute of it, given the chance to celebrate both by himself and with his teammates.
Messi eventually got the chance to do that, although when he initially walked onto the stage to collect the trophy, he was instead given a black robe (a Bisht) by the Emir of Qatar.
It meant that when Messi went over with the trophy to enjoy the moment with his teammates, his Argentina jersey was covered, with some claiming it spoiled what would have been an iconic photo.
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FIFA president Infantino, meanwhile, also took his time to get out of the shot when many viewers at home simply just wanted to see Messi and his teammates take it all in.
“Great pictures from above and great pictures from inside the ground as Argentina win the World Cup for the third time and first since 1986 they also of course won it in 1978 in their own country,” Gary Lineker said on BBC.
“This is a magic moment it’s a shame in a way they’ve covered up Messi in his Argentina shirt.”
“It’s just why? No reason to,” added former Argentina international Pablo Zabaleta.
There was plenty of reaction on social media too, with suggestions the photo opportunity in the black robe was yet another PR stunt for Qatar.