Chandia told ESPN that he was the referee of the 2007 Copa America semi-final, which was held in Venezuela, the host of the tournament for the first time. While the score was 3-0 for Argentina, Messi stopped an attack with his hand about two minutes before the end of the match, which would have cost him a second yellow card and thus his expulsion from the match.
In this context, the Chilean referee said: “Messi touched the ball with his hand intentionally, but the incident was taking place in the midfield, and there was no opportunity available for Mexico to score.”
“I didn’t give him a second yellow card, I just cautioned him because he had two and a half minutes left to play and I didn’t want to stop him playing in the final. I went to him and told him that this play deserved a yellow card, but my decision (not to caution him) would cost you your shirt,” he added.
Indeed, after the end of the match, Chandia, 59, went to the Argentine national team’s locker room to get Messi’s shirt, as a reward for protecting Lionel from a yellow card against Mexico and thus missing the final match.
He concluded: “In fact, Messi wanted to give me the shirt on the pitch, but I told him: No, no, take it to the locker room, then he came and left it for me there.”
But what the referee did did not serve Messi much, because he participated in the final match, and at that time Argentina lost the title to eternal rival Brazil, with three goals to none.
Source: RT
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2024-09-20 11:16:44
