While Argentina lost to Paraguay (2-1), Lionel Messi, hardly inspired, showed great anger towards the referee, accompanied by insults.
Autumn turns into a nightmare for Lionel Messi. Less than a week after the elimination of Inter Miami in the first round of the MLS play-offs against Atlanta, the eight-time Ballon d'Or was left with another disappointment, this time with the Argentina. Traveling to Paraguay for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, the Albiceleste lost 2-1.
However, the match started perfectly for the Argentines since ten minutes were enough for Lautaro Martinez to open the scoring. Alas, it didn't take much for the Paraguayans to equalize thanks to Antonio Sanabria. Worse, Omar Alderete would allow Albirroja to take the lead after returning from the locker room. Although the Argentines pushed to equalize, the score would remain unchanged, causing enormous frustration in the Argentine ranks.
Lionel Messi turns on the referee
This frustration was also palpable from the break when the referee of the match, the Brazilian Anderson Daronco, blew the half-time whistle. This is evidenced by Lionel Messi's great anger against the man with the whistle. “You shit yourself, I don’t love you”he would have told him, according to several Argentine media. The former Parisian criticized the referee for not having given a second warning – and therefore a red card – to Omar Alderete for a foul on him shortly before the break.
Also very pumped up on his bench, Lionel Scaloni was more measured at the press conference. “I could say a lot of things but that would sound like an excuse. I prefer not to say anything so that it is not interpreted as an excuse,
he explained to the media. However, we all saw what happened on the ground. But that doesn't explain the result. That's all, I learned a lot from these things. It seems that we are making excuses, that we want to justify something and that people can interpret something else. Let's leave it there. »
