Spain defender Aymeric Laporte didn’t hold back when it came to his thoughts on rough play in football. He says aggressive tactics shouldn’t go unpunished, and he’s pretty surprised by some of the refereeing in recent Argentina matches leading up to the World Cup final.
In an interview with Marca, as quoted by L’Equipe, Laporte pointed out that Argentina’s physical style seems to get a pass from officials, with several fouls going unnoticed.
‘I’m not worried about aggression in football as long as the referee does his job,’ Laporte explained. ‘If things are allowed to slide, that’s when it bothers me.’
He couldn’t help but mention some surprising calls—or lack of calls—when Argentina played. Those moments didn’t sit well with him, especially in the context of a high-stakes tournament.
‘In these recent games, we’ve all noticed some incidents that really surprised us. Argentina is a tough team, but letting things go unsettles everyone and can throw teams off their game. That sort of thing shouldn’t happen, especially in matches this important,’ he said.
Laporte also took a moment to highlight Spain’s own discipline during the tournament. He feels the Spanish squad have stuck to fair play and stayed away from dirty challenges.
‘From the very beginning, we’ve kept things clean. We don’t go after our opponents with reckless fouls, and that’s the mentality we’ll keep in the final,’ he told Marca. ‘But honestly, so much depends on how the referee handles it.’
Now, the stage is set for a huge World Cup final: Argentina, the defending champions, versus Spain, the reigning European champions. On one side, there’s Messi; on the other, the young phenom Yamal. It promises to be a showdown to remember.
Spain punched their ticket to the final with a decisive 2-0 win over France, while Argentina delivered a dramatic comeback to beat England 2-1—capping the match with a last-gasp winner. Messi heads into the final leading the Golden Boot race, just ahead of France’s Kylian Mbappe, after adding two assists against England. The stage doesn’t get bigger than this.
How to watch and stream FIFA World Cup 2026 in India?
The FIFA World Cup 2026 final between Spain and Argentina will be broadcast LIVE on Zee’s new Unite8 Sports network in India, which includes Unite8 Sports 1, Unite8 Sports 1 HD, Unite8 Sports 2, and Unite8 Sports 2 HD. Additionally, the Spain vs Argentina match will be available for live streaming on the Zee5 website and app.