BUENOS AIRES: Argentina failed to get into full flow of the World Cup qualifier against Uruguay on Saturday because the referee allowed the visitors to disrupt their game with rough tactics, coach Alfio Basile said.

Basile was relieved after Argentina won the match 2-1 to end a run of six straight draws but was furious with their opponents’ tactics and the match officials.

“The referee was a disaster,” growled the gravel-voiced coach. “His permissiveness allowed Uruguay to interrupt the spectacle. We couldn’t play football, we put together two or three passes and then we got kicked.

“They took away the rhythm of the game. We did what we could in a game where the opposition kicks the hell out of you,” he added.

Basile was especially angry when playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme was given a yellow card for taking a free kick too quickly, meaning he is suspended for Wednesday’s match in Chile.

“The booking for Riquelme was ridiculous,” said Basile. “There was a brutal sliding tackle right in front of me and the Uruguayan player got the same yellow card,” he added.

Argentina forward Lionel Messi said: “It was very tough game, they came to kick us.”

“That’s the style which suits them,” added Riquelme. “There feree allowed them to kick us and I hope it doesn’t happen again,” he added.

“When you have two teams who want to win and when both have a long tradition in the game, this happens. It’s a derby and nobody wants to give anything away,” he explained.