Lionel Messi wore a black cloak as he lifted FIFA World Cup; know why

Chandigarh, December 19

Argentina beat France (4-2) on penalties to lift their third FIFA World Cup title on Sunday night.

While Argentina celebrated and Lionel Messi’s fans world over joined in, one thing that grabbed eyeballs was the Argentina captain wearing a black cloak as he held the trophy.

Messi was wrapped in a traditional Gulf cloak by Qatar’s ruler Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani before Tamim handed him the World Cup trophy.

The black cloak is called ‘Bisht’.

According to journalist Uzair Rizvi, Lionel Messi was honoured with a black cloak called ‘Bisht’. In Arab tradition it is worn on special or prestigious occasions.

Qatar simply acknowledged Messi’s win in their own tradition, he tweeted.

However, Twitterati was divided over Qatar’s ruler wrapping Messi in black cloak.

While some maintained that it was Qatar’s way of acknowledging Messi’s win in their own tradition, many felt that Argentina captain should have lifted the coveted golden trophy in his ‘blue and white jersey’.

Here are some reactions: