Argentina superstar Lionel Messi was branded a ‘baby’ after trying to get Spain defender Marc Cucurella sent off during the World Cup final.
Tempers boiled over towards the end of normal time in Sunday’s World Cup final in New Jersey after Argentina’s Enzo Fernandez was sent off.
The Chelsea midfielder received a yellow card for dissent before a late challenge on Pau Cubarsi resulted in his dismissal.
Fernandez could have no complaints after a reckless moment but Argentina tried to immediately level the playing field by getting Spain’s Cucurella sent off at the same time.
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Cucurella had a brief exchange with Messi after Fernandez’s red card and momentarily put his hand over his mouth.
Messi immediately gestured to the referee and fourth official asking for Cucurella to be sent off for breaking new rules over players covering their mouths.
But Arsenal legend and former England defender Lee Dixon criticised Messi’s attempts, saying on ITV: ‘The game is gone if you get bookings and red cards for that.
‘You shouldn’t be such a baby to try and get someone sent off for that, it’s ridiculous.’
Ex-England goalkeeper Joe Hart also criticised Messi on BBC, saying: ‘I didn’t enjoy that at all from Lionel Messi.
‘Seeing that you realise how on top Spain are with even Lionel Messi reverting to that.’
Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney, meanwhile, said: ‘It is (desperation). But Argentina play like that, we know that’s what they do and the one thing you want is good sportsmanship.
‘That was sad to see Lionel Messi doing that.’
On Fernandez’s red card, Rooney added: ‘It’s a silly tackle. He is a little bit late to it.
‘On a yellow card you can’t just dangle your leg out and give the opposition the opportunity to get you a red card.
‘It makes it a very difficult game for Argentina to get through now, Spain were on top as it was but now it’s even more difficult.’
FIFA announced before the start of the World Cup that ‘players cannot cover their mouths during confrontational situations with players or officials’.
Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni covered his mouth during an altercation with Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior during a Champions League game last season.
Brazil forward Vinicius accused Prestianni or racially abusing him but the Argentina winger denied the claims.
‘That’s a good rule,’ ex-Arsenal and England striker Ian Wright said before the tournament started.
‘You can’t prove things if players are covering their mouths, I think that’s a good one. I quite like that, that’s good for me.’
Miguel Almiron became the first player to be shown a red card for covering his mouth while speaking to an opponent during Paraguay’s World Cup group match against Turkey in San Francisco.
The former Premier League forward obscured his mouth with his hand while speaking to Turkey’s Mert Muldur, who then informed an official standing next to him.
Following a check by the video assistant referee (VAR), referee Ivan Barton from El Salvador announced to the crowd that he was sending off Almiron.
Discussing the incident on BBC Radio 5 Live, former Republic of Ireland striker Clinton Morrison said: ‘If you know the rules, you shouldn’t do it. You’ve got to credit the referee and the VAR for making that decision.
‘Not everyone would agree with it, but if those are the rules, you’ve got to stick by the rules.’
Spain finally broke down ten-man Argentina in extra-time, Ferran Torres scoring the winner to turn the European champions into world champions.
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