The South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) caused controversy when it arranged for Brazilian referee Raphael Claus to officiate the 2024 Copa America final between Argentina and Colombia.

CONMEBOL has chosen referee Raphael Claus to officiate the match between Argentina and Colombia in the 2024 Copa America final in the United States. The match will take place at 7:00 a.m. on July 15.

This is a referee who has a not-so-good relationship with Lionel Messi, not to mention the rivalry between Argentine and Brazilian football in the past.

Referee Raphael Claus had a bad memory with Messi in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers (Photo: Clarin).

In 2020, during the match between Argentina and Paraguay in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, Lionel Messi was extremely upset with referee Claus’ decisions and shouted “you robbed us twice” after a series of controversial situations.

On social media, many Argentine fans suspect that referee Raphael Claus could be the “obstacle” that makes it difficult for the home team to defend the Copa America title. In 2021, Argentina beat host Brazil 1-0 at the Maracana to win the championship.

At Copa America 2024, Argentina won all group stage before defeating Ecuador and Canada to advance to the final. However, Colombia is really a formidable opponent for Messi and his teammates.

Colombia beat Panama and Uruguay to book their place in the final in the United States. In addition, James Rodriguez and his teammates surpassed the candidate Brazil to top the group stage.