BBC mocks Messi with graphic showing Ronaldo in VAR room
The BBC has mocked Lionel Messi with a graphic depicting Cristiano Ronaldo in the VAR room following Argentina's defeat to Saudi Arabia.
Argentina lost their World Cup opener 2-1 to Saudi Arabia in Qatar on Tuesday in one of the biggest upsets in the tournament's history.
Messi had opened the scoring after 10 minutes before Saudi Arabia staged a remarkable comeback.
Argentina were denied a two-goal lead around the half-hour mark, with VAR deciding that shot taken by Lautaro Martinez was offside.
Argentina had netted the ball four times in the first half but three of those were ruled out for offside.
The BBC decided to taunt Messi following the controversial decisions in the game, posting a laughing emoji alongside a graphic that showed his ballon d'Or rival Ronaldo controlling the VAR room, with the caption: "Just heard who's on VAR today."
One fan replied with a tweet that has racked up almost 2,000 likes as they said: "This is supposed to be a professional account and they post things like this."
Meanwhile, Manchester United have terminated Ronaldo's contract with immediate effect.