Lionel Messi banned from international football for three months after his heavy criticism of CONMEBOL at Copa America
Barcelona captain Lionel Messi has been fined $50,000 and banned from playing for his national team Argentina, following his heavy criticism of CONMEBOL during the Copa America. Messi was incensed by several incidents during the Copa, including one that saw two Argentina denied two penalty claims in a semifinal loss against Brazil. Messi claimed the officials didn't use VAR on fouls against Argentina because they were "in favor" of Brazil. "Referees gave so many stupid fouls in this Copa America but today VAR wasn't consulted once," said Messi. "This should be looked into and I hope CONMEBOL do something with these referees who unbalance the pitch by favoring a team. "The truth is we're angry because we played very well, we put in a huge effort for it and to end like this makes us sad." CONMEBOL justified banning and fining Messi on their website, though not spelling out the exact reason for the ban in clear terms. They said
