Barcelona captain Lionel Messi has been slammed by CONMEBOL for comments after Argentina’s third-place Copa America playoff defeat of Chile.
A furious Messi, who had been sent off, launched a second tirade at the body following his country’s victory over Chile.
CONMEBOL have hit back with a statement, suggesting Messi should learn to lose with ‘respect’ following Argentina’s defeat to Brazil in the semi-finals.
“In football sometimes you win and sometimes you lose and accepting the outcome of a match with loyalty and respect is a fundamental pillar of fair play,” it read.
“Same goes to the refereeing decisions, that are human and will never be perfect.
“It’s unacceptable that because of incidents proper to the competitions, where 12 nations competed in, all in equal condition, there have been unfounded accusations that misrepresent the truth and put to judgement the integrity of Copa America.
“Said accusations represent a lack of respect for the competition, all the football players involved and the hundreds of professionals of CONMEBOL, an institution that since 2016 has been tirelessly working to professionalise and develop South American football.”
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