Peter FitzSimons has hit out at three of football’s biggest superstars as the World Cup nears it’s conclusion.
The 2026 tournament has been full of great moments on the pitch, with last-minute winners galore.
There has also been plenty of heartbreak to go around, including the Socceroos penalty shootout loss to Egypt in the round of 32.
It has been nothing short of a farce off the field though, with controversy consistently threatening to overshadow anything that has happened on the pitch.
Take, for instance, Folarin Balogun having his one game suspension, suspended by FIFA so that he could play against Belgium – though many will feel justice was served by Belgium’s 4-1 drubbing of the co-hosts.
But FitzSimons has reserved plenty of criticism for Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Erling Haaland, who he has labelled poseurs.
Ptere FitzSimons has levelled criticism at the World Cup’s biggest stars labelling them poseurs
Cristiano Ronaldo was first on his list for criticism, as he questioned Ronaldo’s response to questions around his World Cup performances and apparent international retirement
Then there was Lionel Messi, who copped criticism for thanking God for his talents as a football player
And finally Erling Haaland, who had the audacity to run past Andreas Schjelderup to celebrate with the fans
Writing for the Sydney Morning Herald, he questioned whether football’s elite were ‘up themselves?’
A rhetorical question that he fully intended to answer as he launched into a tirade against Ronaldo first.
‘I suppose I could have asked Cristiano Ronaldo, but he was a little busy in a couple of press conferences,’ he wrote.
‘“Whatever happens tomorrow,” he is saying, “Cristiano will leave with a clear conscience … I’m not going to be more, or less, Cristiano because I win the World Cup … Before Cristiano, Portugal hadn’t won any title.”’
Next, it was time for Argentina’s Messi to cop a fair bit of stick from FitzSimons who questioned the superstar’s thanking of God.
‘Others, like Lionel Messi, were occupied thanking God for making them so great. For only God knows how beneficent he has been in giving little ol’ Lionel such skills to wow the world, particularly when many would have thought his efforts might have been better directed to helping the children of Gaza and Ukraine.’
While FitzSimons reserved a paragraph for Messi and Ronaldo, he certainly saved far more space for Erling Haaland.
The Sydney Morning Herald columnist was absolutely incredulous at the big Norwegian’s celebration of his header against Brazil.
His opener sent Norway on their way to the quarter-final and arguably the biggest match in the country’s history.
But for FitzSimons, the only thing that really mattered was that Haaland had run past his teammate, Andreas Schjelderup, who had admittedly put in a wonderful cross for his striker to attack.
‘But my piece de resistance is Norway superstar Erling Haaland, after his goal against Brazil earlier this week.
‘Out on the left, Andreas Schjelderup, the young Norwegian winger who had come on as a substitute, whips in a superbly weighted cross that is – ah, sing it, Dennis Cometti, one more time for the road – centimetre perfect!’ he started.
‘The kid has the ball on a string, and it descends like a guided bomb precisely where Haaland wanted it, allowing him to unleash a lethal header into the back of the net.
‘Goal! Goal! GOOOOOOOAL! A goal for your life, I’ll tell a man it is!
‘Everyone is thrilled – none more than the substitute Schjelderup, whose skillful assist has set up the opening goal for his more high-profile teammate.
FitzSimons couldn’t believe the goalscorer would run past his teammates to soak up the celebrations of the fans after Haaland scored
‘Haaland runs straight towards him, and the kid puts his arms out to be embraced. Alas, Norway’s hero runs straight past him, without acknowledgement, to get closer to the crowd and feel the love. Schjelderup was obliged to run after him, and join the others in embracing him.
‘It might be that there is something I culturally don’t get. But can someone explain? In what world is it OK to be gifted such a superb pass, score, and not show a scintilla of gratitude to the one who delivered it to you?
‘And it is not as if this is a one-off. In this World Cup, it happens all the time! The scorer doesn’t acknowledge the one who set it up, but just rushes towards the crowd to maximise their adulation of him.
‘In any other sport – at least in this nation – you’d call them w*****s, yes?’
Fair to say that FitzSimons has not been thrilled by the personality traits on show by those at the World Cup so far.
