Thailand national futsal team coach Miguel Rodrigo has made fiery statements criticising the Iranian and French national teams following their final group stage match at the Futsal World Cup.
Miguel posted on his Instagram account, noting that both teams “mistreated the game” due to what he described as a lack of competitiveness in the first half of the match. He said: “Both teams played the same ‘no match’, neither of them wanted to shoot on goal,” criticizing what he saw as deliberate attempts to avoid winning.
He added: “Iran scored the first goal unexpectedly after a mistake by the French goalkeeper,” stressing that what happened on the pitch did not reflect the ethics of sport or fair play.
Rodrigo concluded his message by saying: “What happened is a global embarrassment, and both teams should be ashamed,” stressing that this match made him lose respect for them as athletes and colleagues.
You need to do something about this @FutsalWC, @fifacom. France and Iran or at least some players need to be banned. What a disgrace for futsal. You can’t let these people do this during the World Cup without consequences. Shame.#FutsalWC pic.twitter.com/bhuiPBe7Vw
—The good guy! (@lynwood201st) September 23, 2024
The goals in the match sparked much controversy, as the French team’s goalkeeper appeared to let the ball enter his net in a strange manner, and the “Coqs” players wasted balls in a “strange manner”.
The press also discussed the criticism levelled at France and Iran following the match between the two teams, with France’s defeat raising doubts about its desire to avoid facing strong teams in the qualifying rounds.
