Argentina president Javier Milei says rivals ‘envy’ nation after World Cup final defeat to Spain and refereeing complaints

Argentina president Javier Milei has claimed other countries are “jealous” of his nation and insisted his team were hurt by refereeing decisions, following Argentina’s 1-0 defeat by Spain in the World Cup final.

Milei, speaking after a controversial few days in which he accidentally published a pre-scheduled social media post celebrating a title his country did not win, argued that Argentina’s global profile fuels resentment from others.

“The problem with Argentina is that we attract attention and cannot be ignored, and people are jealous of us,” he told Argentine broadcaster LN+, in comments reported by the Daily Mail. “We are excellent at almost everything. I’m sorry, but someone had to say it.”

The president’s remarks come in the wake of a tightly contested final in which Spain beat Argentina 1-0, with the South Americans managing only two shots throughout the match.

Milei questions refereeing after final loss

Milei was highly forthright in his assessment of the match, maintaining that key decisions by the officials went against Argentina, despite widespread perceptions during the tournament that his country had benefited from refereeing calls in earlier rounds.

He insisted that, in his view, Argentina suffered from mistakes made by the match officials in the final, and suggested those decisions influenced the outcome.

“It was a very difficult game for us on Sunday,” he said. “Even so, Argentina could have equalised in the final minutes, even though the run of play was not in our favour at all.”

His position contrasts with the broader impression that had developed over the course of the competition, where many observers believed Argentina had profited from several contentious refereeing decisions on their way to the final.

Embarrassment over premature victory announcement

Milei also faced domestic embarrassment after Argentina’s defeat when a pre-planned post appeared on his social media account prematurely declaring a national holiday to celebrate a World Cup triumph.

The message, scheduled in advance in expectation of an Argentina victory, was accidentally published on Monday, after Spain had already been crowned world champions with their narrow win.

The post, which had announced a day off to mark what would have been Argentina’s World Cup success, was quickly deleted once the error was realised. However, it underlined the depth of expectation surrounding the national team and left the president in what local media described as an awkward position, as the promised holiday will now not take place.

Praise for players’ conduct during tournament

Despite his frustration with the officiating, Milei was keen to praise the attitude and discipline of the Argentina squad throughout the competition.

“Argentina has always taken balanced positions and behaved in a disciplined way throughout the tournament,” he said.

He argued that the team maintained composure even when they felt officials had erred in earlier matches.

“Even in moments when the referees took wrong positions against the national team in some games, the reaction of the team was always balanced and organised, and was characterised by fighting until the end,” Milei added.

The president’s comments, combining strong criticism of refereeing with a broader claim about international envy of Argentina, are likely to provoke debate both at home and abroad as the country comes to terms with a World Cup final loss and the controversy that has followed.