A strange incident was revealed by the international soccer website, Goal, on Wednesday, days following Argentina won the World Cup in Qatar on December 18.
“Goal” published a report quoting the Spanish newspaper “Clarin”, confirming that Lionel Messi, the captain of Argentina, held a “fake” cup for several minutes, during the coronation celebrations on the grounds of Lusail Stadium in Doha.
Messi was unaware at the time that it was not the original trophy handed to him by FIFA President Gianni Infantino, before he raised it wearing the Qatari cloak.
And the image of the Argentine star, holding the imitation cup, broke the record for the most “Instagram” posts to obtain likes, following it garnered nearly 75 million likes, according to Gul.
Paula Zuzulich, an Argentine fan, revealed that she had communicated, before the World Cup, with a company specialized in the manufacture of cups, to implement a replica of the famous Gold Cup designed by Italian Silvio Gazzaniga in 1971, and raised for the first time in the 1974 World Cup, in German Germany at the time.
Paula said that it took 6 months for the replica trophy to be obtained, and her goal was to get the Argentine national team players to sign it, and she knew her way to the stadium 3 times.
The first time, it was lowered onto the pitch, by a family member of the player Leandro Paredes to get him to sign it.
And Paula says that the second time “we were asked to do so,” as the cup remained down below for 45 minutes following winning the title, passed from one player to another, and from one relative to another, while pictures were taken, and she was absent for so long that the fans jokingly told Paula that she “I lost the cup.”
“We were having fun, but I wanted her back,” she continued. She shouted, “That trophy (..) is ours,” and eventually returned to her, following the Inter Milan player, Luatro Martinez, signed it.
After that, Paula adds: “FIFA security arrived and asked us to hand over the trophy to make sure it was not the original.”
According to the “Goal” report, Messi raised the fake trophy around Lusail Stadium, believing it to be the original, until his teammate Angel Di Maria alerted him to the error.
Di Maria said that the security men told him not to give the cup to anyone, and he added: “When I told them that there is another cup,” they assured him that the cup he now has is the real one (following comparing the two copies), and therefore they are now gathering around him to protect it.
Di Maria confirmed that he told Messi this information at the time, according to what was published by the “Goal” website.