Zurich: Argentina forward Lionel Messi has been banned from their next four competitive internationals, starting with Tuesday’s World Cup qualifier in Bolivia, for swearing at a match official, Fifa said on Tuesday.
The decision was announced less than six hours before kick-off of the match in La Paz and means that the five-time world player of the year will play in only one of Argentina’s remaining five World Cup qualifiers.
His absence will be a severe blow to the two-time world champions, who are struggling in the marathon South American campaign.
Fifa said Messi had “directed insulting words at an assistant referee” during the 1-0 win over Chile on Friday, in which he scored the only goal from a penalty.
Television pictures showed him swearing at Brazilian linesman Emerson Augusto do Carvalho at the end of the match after being harried and fouled by Chilean player Jean Beausejour. The official patted him on the head and tried to calm him down but Messi kept ranting.
Fifa said in a letter to the Argentine Football Association (AFA), published by Argentine media, that the incident was not detailed in the referee’s report at the time and was brought to their attention by the media.
According to the letter, Carvalho said he did not understand at the time what Messi was saying.
“I only realised he was swearing afterwards on reading the press,” he said.
He was also fined 10,000 Swiss francs (Dh37,282), with Fifa saying: “This decision is in line with the Fifa Disciplinary Committee’s previous rulings in similar cases.”
Argentina team secretary Jorge Miadosqui, speaking from the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz, immediately confirmed that the federation would appeal the ban.
“The federation will appeal as it should,” he said, noting that Messi had not been warned or sanctioned by the referee of the Chile match at the time of the outburst, and nothing had been mentioned in the referee’s match report.
“We feel powerless, surprised,” added Miadosqui.
“I’m angry, Messi is sad, like us. He could have played, he travelled to play, he should have played.”
Messi, 29, will also miss games away to Uruguay and home to Venezuela and Peru. The Barcelona forward will be eligible again when Argentina visit Ecuador on October 10.
Messi has not enjoyed the same success with Argentina as he has with his club Barcelona and announced his international retirement earlier this year before back-tracking on his decision.
He was frustrated after they lost 1-0 after extra-time to Germany in the World Cup final in 2014, then on penalties to Chile in the Copa America the following year and again on penalties to Chile in the Copa Centenario final last year.
