The final whistle had just blown. Spain's players rushed onto the pitch to celebrate, while Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni attempted to calm some of his frustrated players.

Then the screen froze.

For thousands of MediaNet customers across Maldives, the broadcast ended just as the celebrations were about to begin. At first, many assumed the problem was with their television, decoder or internet connection.

Soon, WhatsApp groups and social media were flooded with the same question; "Is your MediaNet working?"

It quickly became clear the outage was widespread.

Some responded with humour.

"Did someone cut the cable because Argentina lost?" someone on social media joked.

"Does the broadcast end when the referee blows the final whistle now?" another wrote.

Others quipped that viewers might need to buy an additional package just to watch the trophy presentation.

"Maybe it's just an internet problem," another speculated.

The explanation came shortly afterwards in a Facebook post from MediaNet. A power outage had disrupted the service.

"Service will resume as soon as power is restored. The missing portion of the broadcast will be replayed," the company said.

The response did little to calm disappointed football fans.

"Sport is something you have to watch live," one viewer commented.

"Just put it on a DVD and send it to me. I'll watch it tomorrow," another joked.

Some fans turned to online streams and VPNs to watch the ending ceremony, but many were left staring at blank television screens while waiting for the service to return.

Spanish supporters were among the most disappointed. They missed seeing Spain lift the World Cup for the second time in the country's history. Fans also missed iconic post-match moments, including Lamine Yamal and Lionel Messi embracing after the final.

Some Argentina supporters, however, found a silver lining, joking that the outage spared them from watching their rivals celebrate.

For MediaNet, however, the incident is likely to be remembered less light-heartedly. After investing heavily in broadcasting rights and providing extensive tournament coverage, the service failed at the most crucial moment.

Although the outage was caused by a power interruption rather than a direct technical fault within MediaNet's network, much of the public frustration was directed at the broadcaster.

It's unbelievable that we missed one of the most important moments of an event that only comes around every four years," one disappointed viewer said.