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Lionel Messi may face Bolivia suspension after verbally abusing match official
Lionel Messi can miss the match against Bolivia after he was reported to CONMEBOL for verbally abusing a linesman.
Argentina football star Lionel Messi could face suspension for their World Cup qualifier against Bolivia on Tuesday after he was reported for verbally abusing a linesman.
The incident took place during Argentina’s match against Chile when the FC Barcelona forward allegedly abused linesman Marcelo Van Gasse. The incident has been reported to governing body CONMEBOL and they will take a decision on the matter very soon.
Lionel Messi scored the only goal of the match from a controversial penalty given by referee Sandro Rici as Argentina won 1-0 win against Chile. During the match, Messi was enraged by the linesman Marcelo Van Gasse and he ended up verbally abusing the official.
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“F*** off, your mother’s c***,” he screamed at Van Gasse, before refusing to shake his hand at the final whistle. While the incident was not included in the match officials’ original report, it was added on Monday and sent to CONMEBOL.
The governing body will now take a decision of what punishment to hand down to Messi and if they decide to suspend him, the forward can miss the clash with Bolivia in La Paz.
Argentina are currently third in the CONMEBOL qualifiers, behind Brazil and Uruguay.