Fans lash Antoine Griezmann for alleged act of deceit that turned the World Cup final

FRENCH superstar Antoine Griezmann was blasted from all corners for a dirty act of deceit that transformed the World Cup final in a matter of seconds.

Antoine Griezmann came under heavy fire.

IT WAS all going Croatia’s way — until it wasn’t.

Zlatko Dalic’s men were the better side but that doesn’t always count for much in football, as they found out the hard way, going down to France 4-2 in the World Cup final.

Read: ‘Catastrophe’ in World Cup final

And sparking the heartbreaking defeat was a contentious moment that saw football fans blast French star Antoine Griezmann for what they believed was a blatant act of cheating.

Croatia threatened France in the opening minutes, finding space at will down the left as Ivan Perisic ran riot. But the early attacking opportunities were quickly forgotten when the referee blew a free kick for Griezmann, ruling he was brought down by a challenge just outside the box.

The gifted striker whipped the ball into the penalty area and Croatian forward Mario Mandzukic made history for all the wrong reasons when he became the first player to score an own goal in a World Cup final, failing to make clean contact with a defensive header.

The ball skipped off his head and into the back of the net to gift Les Bleus a 1-0 lead against the run of play.

Antoine Griezmann had the last laugh.

When Griezmann tumbled, Croatian players pleaded with the referee to wave play on, claiming he had dived. The man in charge ignored them but a look at the replays suggested they were right, as Griezmann appeared to go down despite barely being touched.

That sparked a huge backlash against the left-footed French talisman, who came under fire for giving his team the advantage in unfair fashion.

Former England footballer Trevor Brooking was one of many who accused Griezmann of diving to win the free kick.

“I am so annoyed. It was never, ever a free kick. Griezmann hardly got touched. He has cheated to get the free kick,” Brooking told the BBC.

Disgraceful dive by Griezmann for the France free kick that led to the goal I’d be livid if I was Croatian right now!!!

— David Thompson (@77thomo) July 15, 2018

That sucks. That was a total dive by Griezmann and France gets rewarded with a goal.

— Scott McLaughlin (@smclaughlin9) July 15, 2018

First goal of the #WorldCup⁠ ⁠ final comes off a FK given for a Griezmann dive. Terrible.

#France #Croatia

— Gary Melo (@Im_So_Legendary) July 15, 2018

Griezmann you diving cheat. That was as clear a dive as you’ll see. I wish VAR would check these things as well.

— Pranay Parab (@prawnay) July 15, 2018

VAR should have had Griezmann yellow-carded for that. A complete dive. And look at the result.#WorldCupFinal #FrancevsCroatia

— Chris Matyszczyk (@ChrisMatyszczyk) July 15, 2018

France Goal off a clear dive by Griezmann. How the ref fell for that is beyond me.

— Andrew Potter (@jandrewpotter) July 15, 2018

that is such a dive from Griezmann. shifts the ball then just falls over. shameless.

— Muhammad Butt (@muhammadbutt) July 15, 2018

The controversy didn’t end there as another cruel decision that went against Croatia later in the first half angered fans and commentators, who believed the men in red and white were hard done by again.

Perisic levelled things up at 1-1 with a bullet into the bottom corner but he went from hero to villain when his hand, rather than boot, became a hot topic.

Griezmann whipped in a corner but instead of the ball going out harmlessly for a goal kick or another corner, as the referee was going to rule, his attention was turned to a possible handball.

The officials upstairs got in his ear and he went to the sideline to use the VAR. Play was stopped for several minutes as the referee examined a host of slow-motion replays from various angles to see whether the ball struck Perisic’s hand.

It had done, and France won a penalty which Griezmann calmly slotted to make it 2-1.

Former Socceroo David Zdrilic said on SBS the right call was made.

“Look, you know, you have to say, it is the final moment where he puts his hand. He’s surprised because the flick doesn’t come,” Zdrilic said halftime.

SBS commentator Martin Tyler said: “You would say it is the kind of penalty decision that would not have been given before VAR and whether that’s what we have to get used to now, well, maybe many of you think that’s the right way.”

The moment things turned sour for Perisic.

Opinion was split on whether the correct call was made, with ex-Australian star Ned Zelic labelling the decision a “joke” on Twitter. Many pundits argued that because everything is slowed down with the VAR, it looked like Perisic had more time to get his arm out of the way than he actually did.

Critics of the penalty decision said it was impossible for Perisic to react quicker and move his arm out of the path of the ball — which was obvious in real time, but not in replays.

Read: VAR controversy stains final

Fans on social media were outraged at the perceived double standards on show. They questioned why the VAR was used to check on the handball call, but wasn’t used to confirm Griezmann had dived for France’s first goal.

VAR rant. If they are able to review Griezmann’s dive France doesn’t score first goal. Then they use VAR because it’s in the box and suddenly they have a penalty that referee would not have called otherwise. If you are going to review plays you need consistency in every play.

— Ian Christianson (@iChristianson6) July 15, 2018

Such a shame that #FRA/Griezmann gets PK goal via benefit of video review, after #CRO gives up goal on Griesmann dive that goes without review

— Tom Farrey (@TomFarrey) July 15, 2018

The vagaries of VAR - no help for Croatia on the Griezmann dive then they get a pen against them after looking at replays

— Darren Fletcher (@DFletcherSport) July 15, 2018

In the end France took its chances but Croatia didn’t, and that was the difference. But like it has done all tournament, the introduction of the VAR for the first time at a World Cup will ensure the discussion continues well after the final whistle is blown.

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