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What's the story?
Gustavo Abreu, a member of the Court of Arbitration for Sport, has advised Argentina captain Lionel Messi to apologise for the claims he made against the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) during the 2019 Copa America.
In case you didn't know
The 2019 Copa America saw Brazil lifting the coveted title in the midst of much controversy regarding their journey to the top.
Barcelona star Lionel Messi was incredibly vocal about the refereeing decisions taken during the semi-finals that saw the Albiceleste lose to Brazil. The 32-year-old claimed the match officials made decisions that favored the Selecao throughout the match causing the Argentine players to be stumped and not as focused.
The situation intensified during the next game which saw Argentina defeat Chile to secure third place in the tournament. Messi was controversially sent off in the first half following an altercation with Gary Medel.
An infuriated Messi later refused to accept his third-place medal at the podium and instead slammed CONMEBOL for corruption and favoritism. He boldly claimed that the organization had set up the tournament for Brazil to win this year.
The heart of the matter
Abreu has now urged Messi to apologise for the harsh comments if he wishes to avoid a sanction and advised the AFA to demand an apology from the Barcelona talisman.
He said (via TYC Sports), "I would suggest to Messi that he apologize because they are going to shake him with the sanction, the AFA should go out and tell him to apologize for what he said."
What's next?
It was initially reported that the five-time Ballon d'Or recipient could face a two-year ban as punishment for the comments. It remains to be seen how Messi and the AFA would respond to Abreu's suggestions in the days to come.
