After Portugal's defeat to Morocco, Pepe said: “It’s unacceptable for an Argentine referee to officiate our game. After what happened with Messi talking, all of Argentina talking and the referee comes here.”
After Portugal's World Cup defeat to Morocco, Pepe and Bruno Fernandes have questioned the selection of Argentine referee Facundo Tello.
With Youssef En-Nesyri's first-half goal that ended Portugal's World Cup campaign, Morocco became the first African nation to reach the semifinals. After Argentina's players criticized officials following their quarterfinal win over the Netherlands on Friday, Pepe questioned why an Argentinean referee was given the game and missed a fantastic opportunity to level the score in added time. His frustrations appeared to boil over in the post-match interviews.
He stated, “I’m going to have to say it. It’s unacceptable for an Argentine referee to referee our game. Following the events of yesterday, when Messi and the rest of Argentina spoke, the referee arrived here.
“In the second half, what did we play? The goalkeeper fell to the ground. Only eight minutes were allotted for the stoppage. We put in a lot of effort, but the referee gave us eight minutes?
