Why didn't Pepe react to Morocco player kissing his head in World Cup elimination?

Portugal national team defender, Pepe, shockingly had no reaction when Morocco's Jawad El Yamiq kissed the back of his head during Saturday's quarterfinal clash at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Pepe, 39, is known for being a hot head, especially when playing with Portugal.

Pepe misses header that would have sent Portugal-Morocco to extra time

The veteran defender just walked away from El Yamiq, leaving fans wondering what might have been going through Pepe's head.

El Yamiq kissed Pepe after the Portuguese defender missed a golden opportunity to equalize in the final minutes of action.

Pepe's header went just wide of the goal, leaving him in an utter state of shock, which could explain why he didn't react when El Yamiq kissed him.

Pepe was thinking of Lionel Messi

Another explanation to why Pepe had no reaction could be that he was already thinking about Lionel Messi.

In his postgame interview, Pepe was upset that the match referee was from Argentina, mentioning Messi's comments from a day prior.

Twitter was quick to defend Messi, saying Pepe is still haunted from the decade of trying to defend him while playing at Real Madrid.

Pepe surely wanted to meet Argentine in the World Cup final, but his hopes and aspirations shattered as El Yamiq kissed the back of his head, a disrespectful act forgiven due to Messi.

Adblock test (Why?)