Honouring Qatar or disrespecting Argentina? Messi donning Qatari robe divides the internet

Argentina's iconic win against France in the FIFA World Cup 2022 after a nail-biting match was one not to miss. Even though many of us are still celebrating Messi's triumph in the last-minute penalty shootout, others have turned to social media to criticise the Bisht, a Qatari robe, adorned by him while hoisting the World Cup trophy.

After their victory, the Argentine captain was draped in a ceremonial Bisht made of gold and see-through material, usually worn by dignitaries for weddings and formal occasions, by the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. While some praised the garment as a symbol of respect, others complained that it concealed Messi’s national shirt a bit too much and hindered the "magical moment."

"Great pictures from above and great pictures from inside the ground as Argentina win the World Cup for the third time and first since 1986. This is a magic moment, it's just a shame in a way they've covered up Messi in his Argentina shirt," Gary Lineker said on BBC while speaking to Pablo Zabaleta, a former Argentine football player.

"Just why? There's no reason to do that," the former Manchester City right-back responded.

Messi later removed the Bisht and celebrated just in the team shirt, but the conversation surrounding the robe continued on Twitter.

Taking to the micro-blogging website, sports journalist Laurie Whitwell wrote, "Qatar obviously wanted to be present in the World Cup trophy pictures, hence putting that black Bisht on Messi. It was just an unnecessary look amid a sea of blue and white sporting shirts. It should be a moment for the players, not the host. Grossly indulgent."

"Longest wait for a trophy lift ever and they did their best to ruin it. Why cover up Messi's shirt with that? Ridiculous. Glad he's now ditched it," stated James Pearce, a Liverpool FC reporter.

Senior football news reporter, Matt Slater also penned down his stance on the gesture. He said, "When I get a moment, I'm going to look at old pics of previous World Cup ceremonies to see if Blatter or Havelange wanted to crash the pic quite that badly. Or if any captain was forced to wear the hosts' national dress. That was odd. His Argentina shirt was fine."

On another note, many fans spoke against the criticism and urged commenters to stop with their "shady remarks."

"Gary Linekar just couldn't help make his shady remarks about a gown that was given to Messi out of respect and honouring him," expressed one Twitter user.

Another fan also pointed out that the robe is an honour and is a sign of respect from the Qatar community. They wrote, "Gary Lineker is so off-point in this World Cup. The World Cup is in Qatar, an Arab-Gulf country. As a mark of respect and high nobility, the royal Bisht is here placed on Messi. It is intended to honour Argentina and its captain. As Mourinho would say: "Respect!"

— 𝓐𝓭𝓪𝓶 (@AdamWalkerGB) December 19, 2022