At the final whistle, Maradona, who was man marked by Guido Buchwald for almost the entire match, burst into tears and blamed the referee for the loss. Argentina entered the game with four players suspended and ended it with nine men on the field, overall losing over half their squad due to injury or suspension.
The outcome of the match, with Argentina losing despite being heavily disadvantaged by player suspensions and injuries, led Maradona to blame the referee for the defeat.