Argentina captain Lionel Messi has been handed a one-match ban for his red card by CONMEBOL and a $1,500 fine for leveling accusations of corruption at South American football chiefs.
He had caused quite a stir with his comments after the Argentina crash out at the semi-finals of Copa America last month. Messi called the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) “corrupt” and after being set off against Chile, he skipped the medal ceremony being upset about his red card and his nation’s defeat to host country Brazil.
“There is no doubt the whole thing is set up for Brazil, I hope that the VAR and referees don’t play any part in the final and that Peru can compete but it looks tough to me.
“I did not want to be part of this corruption; we shouldn’t have to be part of this disrespect we suffered during the Copa America. We could have gone further but we weren’t allowed into the final. Corruption, referees and all the rest stopped people from enjoying football”, Messi claimed in relation to the VAR decisions that were against Argentina.
CONMEBOL on Tuesday said that Messi’s comments were “unacceptable”. The ban is expected to be imposed in Argentina’s first qualifier for the 2022 World Cup.
