Lionel Messi hits back at FIFA bias claims after England win

Lionel Messi used Argentina's 1-2 semi-final win over England to shut down the bias talk that followed the tournament. He said the team had earned everything, had been given nothing, and were better on the night. Messi also did the damage on the pitch, setting up both goals for Argentina in Atlanta on 2026-07-15.

Messi's response to the bias talk

"This proves that what we did wasn't by chance and that nobody gave us anything," Messi told metro.co.uk. He was even blunter in another interview, saying that if Argentina had lost, people would have "come out and said some nonsense", and that the side "didn't give them the chance".

The captain's point was not just emotional. He said Argentina were "better than them in terms of football", and framed the result as the cleanest answer to the criticism. That view also fit the performance. Messi assisted a short-corner routine for Enzo Fernández from 25 yards, then delivered a right-footed cross for Lautaro Martínez's winner.

Messi's own tournament numbers back up the level he is talking about. He reached 8 World Cup goals and 4 assists after the semi-final, and sits atop the golden boot table. He also has 7 appearances and 651 minutes, which is a heavy workload for a player still deciding matches at the business end.

Why the argument still matters

The officiating debate has not come from nowhere. Metro.co.uk noted complaints from Egypt and Switzerland earlier in the tournament, and Cristian Romero added fuel to the wider mood by saying he and Lisandro Martínez were fired up before the game because of Gary Neville's comments. But Messi's position was clear enough: Argentina won the match, created the decisive chances and did not need help to get through.

That leaves the final on a simple football read. Argentina are there because they beat England, and Messi has already done the most important part himself by producing both assists. If they go on to win the final, the argument over bias will keep circling, but the semi-final itself is already settled on the pitch.