Lionel Messi was presented with a bisht – a traditional Arab cloak – that covered the majority of his Argentina shirt as he lifted the World Cup trophy following his country’s dramatic victory over France in the final.
Messi – who scored Argentina’s first and third goals as they drew 3-3 with France after extra time before defeating them on penalties – had the cloak draped over his jersey by Gianni Infantino, the FIFA president, and Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar.
The forward – who plays for Qatari-owned Paris Saint-Germain and is an ambassador for Saudi Arabia – was then led towards his team-mates by the pair before lifting the trophy while wearing the bisht, which is a status garment worn on special occasions by Arab men and is often associated with royalty.
Former Argentina defender Pablo Zabaleta was unhappy with the position Messi was placed in. Speaking in his role as a pundit on the BBC, he said: “Just why? No reason to do that.”
Messi plays for Qatari-owned French side PSG
Former England striker Gary Lineker added: “It seems a shame, in a way, that they’ve covered up Messi in his Argentina shirt.”
Messi lifts the trophy with his Argentina team-mates
Also speaking to the BBC, Alan Shearer joked about the close attention Infantino was paying towards Messi before handing him the trophy, saying: “I didn’t think Infantino was going to let him go either.”
Infantino followed Messi closely along the podium after handing over the trophy
Lineker then joked: “Nobody marked him that tightly during the game.
Messi – now 35 – was likely playing in his final World Cup match
“He is good in tight spaces though, so he got away from him in the end.”
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