Lionel Messi lost his cool and grabbed an opponent around the neck during Argentina's defeat to Uruguay on Thursday.
The bitter rivals battled it out at the La Bombonera Stadium in Buenos Aires, with the visitors ending Argentina's post-World Cup undefeated streak thanks to goals from Ronald Araujo and Darwin Nunez. Tensions boiled over mid-way through the first half when Argentina's Rodrigo De Paul got into a scuffle with Uruguay's Mathias Olivera.
Messi leaped into the fray by barging into Olivera, and things took an ugly turn when the Ballon d'Or winner wrapped his hand around the defender's throat. The officials failed to spot the infraction and Messi escaped without punishment, much to the bemusement of fans on social media.
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"That’s a red card for any other player but of course he didn’t get a red card because his name is Messi," one supporter fumed on X. Another said: "People always act like Messi is so humble non-problematic guy. Man, PR is so powerful."
A third raged: "This should have been an absolute red card, why would you elbow and choke a player?" A fourth joked: "Messi’s the wannabe tough guy knowing his bodyguards are coming."
Does Messi get preferential treatment from officials? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
Uruguay, who are managed by former Argentina and Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa, got the last laugh after netting two second half goals to put Messi and Co. to the sword. Barcelona defender Araujo grabbed the first and Liverpool striker Nunez got the second, though both efforts arguably should have been kept out by Aston Villa keeper Emi Martinez.
Messi came close to scoring after his whipped free-kick struck the bar, but for all of Argentina's possession (64%) they barely threatened Uruguay's goal, registering just three shots on target. The result sees Uruguay close the gap on Argentina at the top of the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying table.
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Argentina are top with 12 points, and Uruguay are now just two points behind them in second place after becoming the first team to score against the World Cup winners in qualifying.
"We never felt comfortable in this match," Messi admitted after the game. "Uruguay is a physical team, they have good teamwork. It is always like that against them." Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni agreed, saying: "Uruguay were the better side… We cannot think that because we are world champions we will never lose again. We are not unbeatable, I said it before and I will continue to say it."
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