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What's the story?
The absence of Barcelona ace, Lionel Messi, from the Argentina team that played Morocco on Tuesday will reportedly cost the Argentine Football Association a hefty €450,000.
In case you didn't know...
A Messi-less Argentina side went head-to-head against Morocco in a friendly game that saw La Albiceleste register a 1-0 win over their opponents last night.
The fixture was initially marred by the reported absence of Messi, owing to an injury he had picked up during Argentina's 3-1 defeat to Venezuela.
The Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) even asked for a further explanation into the reason for the absence in a statement that read (via AS),
"The FRMF on Saturday received a letter from the agent of the friendly match against Argentina, officially confirming the absence of Lionel Messi."
"According to the same letter, the agent confirmed that the Argentine Football Association said that Messi had been injured in a match against Venezuela on Friday in Madrid and that he directly joined Barcelona for treatment."
"The FRMF asked for clarification from the match agent, approved by the Argentine Football Federation, after news of Messi's absence from Tuesday's match in Tangier."
"It is worth noting that the FMRF had agreed in the contract organising this friendly match to face Argentina's first team."
The heart of the matter
According to the Moroccan daily newspaper, Al Ahdaz al Magrebiya (via Marca), Messi's absence has prompted the Moroccan FA to withdraw €450,000 from the amount they would have paid the Argentinian Football Federation had the 31-year-old been available.
Since the contract for the fixture included a clause that required the Barcelona captain to play for at least 70 minutes, it is believed that the deduction is justified.
What's next?
Argentina will not be playing any time soon with their next schedule being their opening Copa America clash against Colombia on June 15.
