Murat Yakin followed Hassom Hassan in calling out FIFA after Switzerland lost the quarterfinal to Argentina. While Argentina scored three consecutive goals to win the game 3-2 against Egypt, they stayed 1-1 against Switzerland for the first 100 minutes and then scored two consecutive goals in the added time. However, just as Argentina was again accused of getting advantages from the referee, Yakin repeated the same tone as Hassan after the game.
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“We were MUCH better than Argentina today. Football didn’t win today,” The Touchline quoted Yakin on X.
Few decisions went against Switzerland, like Breel Embolo’s controversial red card in the quarter-final. In the 72nd minute, Embolo went down under a challenge from Argentine midfielder Leandro Paredes. Portuguese referee Joao Pinheiro initially blew for a foul and issued a yellow card to Paredes. VAR intervened, and it was revealed that Embolo had started falling before any physical contact was made, fabricating the foul.
Because a card had already been drawn, the protocol allowed the referee to rescind Paredes’s booking. The yellow card was instead transferred to Embolo for simulation (diving). Having already been cautioned in the first half, Embolo received his second yellow and a subsequent automatic red card.
Expectedly, Switzerland manager Murat Yakin blasted the intervention as “unacceptable” and “unnecessary,” stating the rule destroyed the game. He was not happy with Argentina or the officiating. Captain Granit Xhaka also voiced extreme frustration with the same.
While Switzerland kept Argentina tight, the 10-man team couldn’t hold out longer. According to Yakin, that took away their momentum.
“We looked better than the reigning champions, better in everything. But the result was influenced by internal factors on the pitch and external factors off it,” the coach said after losing to Argentina. “Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champion in the competition. Perhaps they wanted Messi to stay in the running.”
Now, as Yakin said, Switzerland was ahead in the game against Argentina; he may have hinted at the same as Hassan.
During the first half, Messi suffered a cut below his right eye after a collision with a Swiss defender. Shortly after, referee Joao Pinheiro firmly ordered Messi to move back before a Swiss free kick. This made Messi furious, and he yelled at the referee:
“Speak to me respectfully; don’t be disrespectful. I spoke to you respectfully.”
Critics argued that most players would receive an immediate booking for dissent for confronting an official so aggressively. Pinheiro chose to let the incident go without a card, further fueling conspiracy theories regarding refereeing bias toward Argentina. Nothing escaped Yakin’s eye, and his post-game remarks are another addition to the long list of controversies that happened in the FIFA World Cup 2026.
