Lionel Messi is one of the top footballers in the world, but even he can get a serious suspension now and then. The Argentina maestro was suspended for four matches after he swore at an assistant referee during his side’s 1-0 win over Chile. What is interesting however, is how the suspension came to be. The match referee did not reprimand the forward after the incident, nor was this recorded in the match report. The incident was only put on record after the Chile football association, probably incensed that two of their players were suspended recently for similar offences while Messi escaped, sent tapes of the incident to CONMEBOL, the South American football governing body.
Whilst there is no excuse for abusing any official during the match, what has football come to when football associations can intervene in situations like this? The onus is on the referee to record these incidents and perhaps someone should inquire why this was not put on record that day. All said and done, there need to be proper regulations put in place to avoid not just the swearing at officials, rival players and spectators by players, but also to avoid rival associations putting dents in each other’s chances of moving forward in tournaments.
