Messi, Martinez slam referee and Dutch coach after tense quarterfinal win

It was a tense knockout game where tempers flared and quarrels ensued on the pitch. Argentine skipper Lionel Messi and goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez did not mince words in the post-match comments to settle scores against the Netherlands manager, players and refereeAntonio Mateu Lahoz.

Messi hit out at the Netherlands manager Louis van Gaal, saying he felt disrespected by the Dutch following his pre-match statements.

"I feel disrespected by Van Gaal after his pregame comments and some Dutch players spoke too much during the game," said Messi.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

Messi was referring to van Gaal'spre-match conference where the Dutch said he had the anti-dote to the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner.

"You will see on how I'll stop Messi on Friday, I won't tell you."

At the end of the match, Messi went towards the Dutch dugout and had a heated argument with van Gaal and his support staff as well.

Messi did not stop here as he took a shot atreferee Lahoz who handed as many as 18 yellow cards during the course of the match, setting a new record in the process.

Messi wasn't too amused by the referring standards and said, "I don’t want to speak about referees because after they will sanction you. But people saw what happened. I think FIFA must take care of this."

"It cannot put a referee like that for a match of such magnitude, of such importance. The referee cannot fail to be up to the task."

Similarly, Martinez did not hold his punches back either as he advisedvan Gaal "to keep his mouth shut”.

“I heard van Gaal saying we [Netherlands] got an advantage in penalties, if we go to penalties we win. I think he needs to keep his mouth shut.”

As for the referee, Argentina's penalty shootout hero added,"Hopefully we don't have that ref anymore...He's useless!"

Argentina will face Croatia in the World Cup semi-finals following a thrilling penalty shootout victory over the Dutch side.

The match was all set to end in regulation time as Argentina had a two-goal cushion, heading into the last 10 minutes of the game.

However, tactical tweaks by van Gaal meant that the tall, lanky former Burnley striker Wout Weghorst managed to find the back of the net twice in quick succession. The second goal came in the 11th minute of the stoppage time.

Read more:Argentina beat Netherlands on penalties to reach World Cup semis

After no breakthrough in the extra time, the game went to penalties where Martinez stopped two Dutch spot-kicks and ensured his team's entry into the final four.

(With inputs from agencies)

WATCH WION LIVE HERE: