On Saturday, the performance of the Argentine national team in the South American championship ended with a victory against Chile. In the battle for bronze, the Argentinians defeated their opponents with a score of 2:1.
However, after the match, more was spoken about the conflict between Lionel Messi and Gary Medel, which ended with the expulsion of both players from the field.
In the 37th minute, the players clashed, although more initiative was shown by G. Medel. Nevertheless, the referee decided to punish both players.
After the match, Lionel Messi, who did not return to the field to receive the bronze medal, claims that he did so because he does not want to be a part of a corrupt federation that disrespects neither teams nor players.
"What I said happened," began the conversation the star of Barcelona. "I did not go onto the podium because we are disrespected and should not be a part of corruption. We were ready to achieve more in this tournament, but they didn't let us. The corruption here and the referees did not allow people to enjoy football. They simply ruined everything."
"We must be open and admit that the referees took away our chance to compete in the final. I have no doubt that Brazil will become champions. That's what this tournament was organized for. I hope the referees and VAR will not harm the Peru team, because they have everything to compete with the Brazilians. However, it will be very difficult for them," Messi continued.
When asked about the incident with G. Medel, Lionel Messi said: "A yellow card would have been enough, but as I mentioned before, I am now suffering because of what I said last time. The most important thing is that the team finished triumphantly."
