The eagerly anticipated friendly game between Argentina and Italy at the Etihad Stadium was a tad disappointing in the end, with Lionel Messi not taking to the pitch after suffering a small hamstring problem beforehand.
Fans in attendance didn't get to see the five-time Ballon d'Or winner in action, but they did see Jorge Sampaoli's side win 2-0 courtesy of goals from Sevilla's Ever Banega and West Ham's Manuel Lanzini.
Friendlies are typically less feisty than competitive games but the fact no yellow cards were brandished by referee Martin Atkinson came as a rather big surprise, despite there being some moments/situations that could have easily resulted in one.
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Lanzini, however, made a very interesting revelation at the game, saying that Atkinson wanted to see out his final international fixture without a single yellow.
"The referee told me that it was his last international match and so he wanted to see it out with no yellow cards," Lanzini told Argentine paper Ole, via Football Italia.
46-year old official Atkinson will not be appearing at the World Cup in Russia, and so it's understandable for him to have been a little more lenient in his final international game.
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And though it's not quite-match fixing, the comment relayed by Lanzini post-match has certainly raised suspicions. Imagine if you had a bet relating to yellow cards? You'd be pretty furious when you found out Atkinson had a bit of a game-plan.
Speaking of game-plans, former Premier League official Mark Clattenburg sparked outrage over his bizarre comments about Spurs' infamous 2-2 draw with Chelsea in 2016 - a result which meant Leicester were crowned champions.
Speaking to NBC's Men in Blazers podcast, he said:
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"I allowed them [Spurs] to self-destruct so all the media, all the people in the world went: 'Tottenham lost the title.'
"If I sent three players off from Tottenham, what are the headlines? 'Clattenburg cost Tottenham the title.' It was pure theatre that Tottenham self-destructed against Chelsea and Leicester won the title.
"Some referees would have played by the book; Tottenham would have been down to seven or eight players and probably lost and they would've been looking for an excuse.
"But I didn't give them an excuse, because my gameplan was: Let them lose the title."
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Would FIFA be right to review Atkinson's performance?
Sound off in the comments.
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