This archive report was first published on 24 July 2019.
On July 24, 2019, South American football bosses, CONMEBOL, announced that Lionel Messi would be serving a one-game suspension for his dismissal during the Copa America third-place play-off against Chile earlier this month.
The suspension, which cannot be appealed by the Argentine Football Association (AFA), means Messi will miss the first of Argentina's qualification matches for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, due to be played in March. He was also fined $1,500.
Messi was harshly dismissed in the first half of Argentina's 2-1 win over Chile after a clash with defender Gary Medel. Television images suggested Messi did nothing wrong as Medel appeared to repeatedly try, unsuccessfully, to headbutt the Barcelona forward.
"Corruption and the referees are preventing people from enjoying the football and they're ruining it a bit," Messi said after the Chile match.
CONMEBOL made no mention of Messi's "corruption" accusation against the regional governing body that he made after receiving his red card.
