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What's the story?
Following their Copa America 2019 triumph, Brazil coach Tite has lashed out at Lionel Messi after the Argentina skipper accused the CONMEBOL of setting up the tournament for the Selecao.
The Barcelona star made some controversial comments after Argentina's Copa America exit at the hands of Tite's men in the semi-finals.
In case you didn't know...
Argentina began their Copa America campaign rather poorly as they lost 2-0 to Colombia in their opening fixture. However, with a draw and a win in their next two games, Argentina qualified for the knockout stage where they comfortably beat Venezuela to book a berth in the semi-finals against Brazil.
The hosts defeated Lionel Scaloni's men with a comfortable 2-0 margin as Gabriel Jesus and Roberto Firminho racked up a goal each. However, following their defeat against Brazil, Argentina skipper Lionel Messi claimed that his team deserved two penalties in the match and the referee didn't even use VAR:
“They [the officials] had booked a lot of bullshit, but they didn’t even check the VAR, that’s incredible.
“That happened all over the game. At the first glance of contact, they ruled in their [Brazil's] favour and this kind of bullshit distracted us from the game."
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The heart of the matter
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner slammed the CONMEBOL again after Argentina's encounter against Chile for the third-place in the tournament. The 32-year-old was shown a red card after clashing with Gary Medel.
Following their win against Chile, Messi refused to collect the bronze medal and said:
"We don't have to be part of this corruption. The lack of respect that they have showed us throughout this tournament.
"Sadly, the corruption, the referees, they don't allow people to enjoy football, they ruined it a bit.
"I think the cup is fixed for Brazil. I hope that the VAR and the referees have nothing to do in this final and that Peru can compete because they have the team to do so although I think it's difficult."
Following their 3-1 win against Peru in the final, Brazil coach Tite responded to Messi's accusations as he said post-match:
"The one I treated as extraordinary, as extraterrestrial, needs to have more respect and accept when he is beaten.
"We were harmed [by referees] in several games. We played fair against Argentina the whole time.
"I am being honest. He put huge pressure [on] because of his reputation."
What's next?
If reports are to be believed, Messi can be banned for two years from Copa America for his recent 'corruption' comments.
