Friday’s match between Brazil and Argentina from the King Saud University Stadium in Saudi Arabia was anything but friendly between the two South American rivals.
The match ended 1-0 to Argentina with Lionel Messi scoring the only goal in the 14th minute—a tap-in following a failed penalty kick—but the result isn’t what people are talking about today.
Thiago Silva calls out Lionel Messi 😤 pic.twitter.com/Rsxf4OdAKy
— B/R Football (@brfootball) November 16, 2019
Following the final whistle, Paris Saint-Germain and Brazil captain Thiago Silva blasted Messi for influencing officials. According to Sport (via Bleacher Report), Silva was unhappy with several instances during the match and believes the FC Barcelona man gets favorable treatment due to his stature in the game.
“He wanted to rule over the game. He kicked two people and the referee did nothing,” Silva said. “I argued with the ref and he kept laughing. You have to put admiration to one side.”
“He always looks to force the referee to give them free-kicks in dangerous areas, he always acts in that way,” Silva continued. “We spoke with some players who play in Spain and the same thing happens, he looks to control the game and the referee’s decisions.”
“In the Champions League, he doesn’t have that advantage because the referees are tougher,” Silva explained. “You don’t see him trying to rule so much. There are referees that, because of their admiration for him, start to weigh in on his side.”
Messi, who was found guilty of not paying his taxes as reported by the BBC and has not won a FIFA World Cup with Argentina as Kylian Mbappé has with France at 19-years-old, continued to show his true character in the match against Brazil by then targeting Brazil’s manager.
Reported by Sport, Tite was calling on the referee to show Messi a yellow card for a challenge on Casemiro that was whistled as a foul.
Messi, who was on the pitch last season as Barcelona blew a 3-0 lead to Liverpool FC in the UEFA Champions League, took offense to Tite’s comments and put his finger to his lips in a “hush” motion and clapped his hands to essentially tell the elder Tite to shut his mouth.
Leo Messi wasn't impressed with something the @CBF_Futebol head coach told the referee!
WATCH his reaction here. 😯#Messi #Tite #BRAvARG https://t.co/Qb6N3pRSsv
— FOX Sports Asia (@FOXSportsAsia) November 16, 2019
Silva, the consummate professional, stood up for his national team manager:
Thiago Silva wants Messi to set a better example. pic.twitter.com/Q1B6D88bcc
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) November 16, 2019
Silva is exactly right here and Messi looks childish and unprofessional due to his actions. He won a dodgy penalty and then proceeded to deceive the official the entire match. He’s arguably the best player that has ever put on a pair of boots. Why he has to behave like that in a friendly is anyone’s guess.
If you remember, Argentina lost to Brazil in the semi-finals of last summer’s Copa America. Messi proceeded to then get sent off in the third-place match against Chile.
I don’t know how other PSG supporters feel, but I very much want to draw Barcelona in the knockout phase of the Champions League. From Silva vs. Messi to the return of Neymar to the Camp Nou, there are too many storylines not to hope this matchup happens soon.
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