LAGOS, NIGERIA (VOICE OF NAIJA) – Louis van Gaal, the former head coach of the Netherlands, has joined the discussion surrounding the alleged conspiracy of the 2022 FIFA World Cup favoring Argentina as the champions.
Van Gaal supports the notion that the tournament was manipulated to ensure Lionel Messi’s victory, echoing the claims made by Messi’s critics.
Messi played a crucial role in Argentina’s World Cup triumph, scoring twice in the final against France and converting a penalty in the shootout to help Argentina lift the trophy.
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In the quarter-final, Argentina faced Van Gaal’s Netherlands, with Messi scoring in regular time and converting another penalty to secure a 4-3 victory on penalties after a 2-2 draw.
In an interview with Dutch outlet NOS, the former Manchester United coach pointed to certain decisions in Argentina’s favor and the leniency shown towards their players as evidence of a premeditated game.
He said: “When you see how Argentina gets the goals and how we get the goals, and how some Argentina players overstepped the mark and were not punished, then I think it was all a premeditated game.”
