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Gary Neville, Roy Keane and Ian Wright remained as furious as Croatian players after Argentina were awarded a controversial first-half penalty.
Lionel Messi broke the deadlock from the spot in Tuesday’s World Cup semi-final after Julian Alvarez was found guilty of being fouled by Dominik Livakovic.
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Argentina were awarded a penalty in the first half after Croatian goalkeeper Livakovic brought down Alvarez
TVI
Neville and Keane argued Livakovic couldn’t escape Alvarez
The Manchester City striker ran flawlessly to goal where he lifted the ball over the hurried goalkeeper.
And Livakovic, who failed to hit the shot as he looked to shut down Alvarez, inadvertently knocked the player down as he tried to pass him.
The decision to award the kick drew immediate protests from Croatian players, with assistant coach Mario Mandzukic being sent off for his reaction.
Their fury was justified in the eyes of pundits Neville, Keane and Wright, as they were baffled by how referee Daniele Orsato could point out the spot.
Speaking on ITV, Neville said: “Not a penalty, not everything, I didn’t think it was at the time.
“The keeper comes out, he stops as the shot is about to be fired and Alvarez runs into him and takes his leg off. What is he supposed to do? It is not a penalty. »
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Livakovic couldn’t get out of the way as he collided with Alvarez
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Messi converted the kick to the top right corner to put Argentina 1-0 up
Intervening, Wright remarked, “The ref didn’t even look back, I just don’t understand.”
Agreeing with their analysis, Keane said: “I agree with the boys, I don’t think it was a penalty, where else was it supposed to go?”
Although Ally McCoist, who was on commentary duty, could not understand her colleagues’ point of view.
He said: “I don’t understand why they think it’s not a penalty, anywhere else on the pitch and it’s a free kick!
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Croatian players were furious with referee Daniele Orsato’s decision
“I think the referee is absolutely right.”
Shortly after Messi’s opener, Alvarez got on the scoresheet in the 39th minute after finishing a fine solo run.
And City’s centre-forward picked up his second of the game midway through the second half after slotting home following wonderful work from Messi.
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