Referee 'earned' L. Messi's jersey: I remember its smell

2024-09-20 19:52 © „Reuters“

Former referee Carlos Chandia recalled a story from 2007 involving one of the greatest players of all time, Lionel Messi.

At that time, the Argentine who was just climbing to the peak of his Olympus participated in the "Copa America" tournament and, in the semifinal match, along with players like Gabriel Heinze and Juan Román Riquelme, crushed Mexico with a score of 3:0.

Referee C. Chandia noticed that in the middle of the field, L. Messi touched the ball with his hand but decided not to show the footballer a yellow card.

"This moment did not stop the Mexicans from scoring, so I told Lionel that this leniency of mine would cost him his game jersey."

With only two and a half minutes left in the game, a yellow card would have eliminated the player from the "Copa America" final.

After the match, L. Messi wanted to simply give his jersey on the field, but I instructed him to bring it to my room," said the referee.

He revealed that he has since given the jersey to his son: "I don’t remember its number, unlike its scent. Definitely not the best."

Of course, since I did not show L. Messi a yellow card, the Brazilians were very angry, ensuring that I would not work the tournament final."

In the decisive "Copa America" match, Dunga's team crushed the Argentinians 3:0 and won the gold medals.