Messi, Emi Martinez slam referee: 'He was always against us'

Lionel Messi and Emiliano Martinez didn't mince words regarding the match official of Argentina's World Cup quarterfinal win over the Netherlands on Friday.

Both players believe Antonio Mateu Lahoz handicapped their team, with Messi saying the Spanish referee, who showed 18 yellow cards in total, isn't fit to officiate a match of such magnitude.

"After they got the draw I felt a lot of anger," said Messi, according to Agence France-Presse. "I don't want to talk about the referee because they immediately reprimand you or sanction you, but I think people saw what happened.

"FIFA has to review that, it can't give a referee like that a match of this importance when they're not up to the task."

Messi added: "We didn't have a great game, and then the referee sent it to extra time. He was always against us. In the last play, it was not a foul."

Martinez went as far as to suggest Lahoz was trying to help the Netherlands with a series of decisions late in the contest.

"It turned upside down," the 'keeper told beIn Sports.

"The ref was giving everything for them. He gave 10 minutes (of added time) for no reason. He was giving free-kicks outside the box for them, like two or three times. He just wanted them to score. That's basically it.

"So hopefully we don't have that ref anymore. He's useless."