Lionel Messi wins three-month international football ban for his speech on corruption at Copa America



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The Barcelona striker had claimed that Brazil had been favored during the summer tournament

Reuters

Lionel Messi was suspended from playing international football for three months following a rant against officials at the Copa America.

The captain of Barcelona and Argentina said his team had suffered "corruption" at the tournament in Brazil after being thrown out in third place.

The South American Football Confederation, CONMEBOL, also awarded the winner of the Golden Ball five times US $ 50,000 (MAD 183,600).

The ban means that Argentina will be without Messi for friendly matches against Chile, Mexico and Germany.

The Barcelona striker was fired as a result of a confrontation with former Cardiff midfielder Gary Medel, to whom a red card was also presented.

Messi appeared to have been roughed up, with Chilean defender Medel seeming to push his head towards the Argentinian playmaker as he straightened up, chest to chest.

The Argentine captain hinted that he had been singled out as a result of his comments on the "madmen" who had officiated following the 2-0 semi-final loss to Brazil in Belo Horizonte.

"We do not need to be part of the corruption we suffered in this tournament," said Messi, quoted by a Spanish media outlet. AS.

"Medel is always right on the limit – with a yellow one, that would have been the end for both of us, but hey, maybe what I said recently had an impact.

"What is important is that the team ended well in the tournament, maybe it was ordered and I ended up suffering because of what I was doing. I said. "

In the wake, the CONMEBOL said that a "fundamental pillar of fair play is to accept the results with loyalty and respect".

Although he did not mention Messi by name, the communiqué of the time said: "The same goes for arbitration decisions, which are human and which will always be improvable".

Last Updated: August 3, 2019 08:52

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