Furious Lionel Messi confronts Brazil star Rodrygo over ‘coward’ insult after Argentina walk out
Lionel Messi furiously confronted Brazil star Rodrygo after Argentina staged a walk-out before their World Cup qualifier in Rio de Janeiro.
Argentina captain Messi was seen telling teammates to leave the Maracana pitch as kick-off was delayed by 30 minutes due to crowd violence.
Supporters of the two fierce South American rivals began fighting during the national anthems and police intervened with batons.
Argentine players rushed over to the scene and goalkeeper Emi Martinez tried to defend his compatriots by disarming a police officer.
When the world champions re-emerged from the tunnel, Real Madrid forward Rodrygo reportedly shouted 'you cowards' at his opponents.
Eight-time Ballon d'Or winner Messi rushed over to the 22-year-old and grabbed him by the back of the neck.
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According to TyC Sports, Messi said: “We are the world champions, why are we cowards? Look at your mouth.”
Argentina would have the last laugh as Nicolas Otamendi's second-half header sealed a 1-0 victory.
Speaking afterwards, Messi said: "It was bad because we saw how they were beating people.
"The police, as it already happened in the Libertadores final, were once again repressing the people with night sticks, there were players who had families over there."
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The 36-year-old added: "We went to the locker room because it was the best way to calm everything down, it could have ended in tragedy.
"You think about the families, the people who are there, who don't know what's going on and we were more concerned about that than playing a match that, at that point, was of secondary importance."