South American football ruling body, CONMEBOL has suspended Argentina captain Lionel Messi from international football for three months and also fined him $50,000 for his comments linking the body to corruption during the 2019 Copa America in Brazil.
The Argentina captain accused the organisation of corruption after he was sent off along with Chile’s Gary Medal in their bronze medal match at the Corinthians Arena, Sao Paulo, on July 6. Argentina won the match 2-1, but Messi refused to appear at the podium with his teammates during medal presentation and allegedly told reporters later that he didn’t “want to be part of this corruption. This lack of respect towards the whole Copa.”
The suspension begins from today, August 3, and will last for 90 days, in which Messi will only miss three games for the Albiceleste; three friendlies against Chile, Mexico and Germany.
Therefore, Messi will be able to feature in the first qualifying matches for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, except for the opening game as he will have to serve the one-match ban he picked up for the red card against Chile.
