Liverpool fan made petition to ban Lionel Messi and it got more than 16,000 signatures
A Liverpool fan who once started a petition to get Lionel Messi banned was able to gain over 16,000 signatures.
The petition aimed to have UEFA retrospectively ban the Argentine for a ‘punch’ on former Reds midfielder Fabinho during the Champions League semi-final first leg defeat against Barcelona at the Nou Camp in 2019.
The Catalans comfortably saw off Jurgen Klopp’s side thanks to Messi’s heroics in a 3-0 victory.
Messi netted twice in the final 15 minutes, including a stunning free-kick, but Liverpool fans claimed the pint-sized star should never have been given the chance to take the set-piece because he was guilty of committing a foul.
Fabinho was penalised for blocking Messi’s run as he attempted to play a one-two with former Reds striker Luis Suarez.
The Brazilian was booked for his attempt at stopping the attack but some supporters believe Messi was at fault by launching himself at Fabinho.
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Messi’s hand appeared to make contact with Fabinho's face while attempting to hurdle the challenge, leaving the former Liverpool midfielder in a heap.
One Liverpool fan was in no mood to let the decision lie and promptly took to change.org to create the petition titled: 'Get Messi a retrospective ban for clearly punching Fabinho in the head'.
It read: "So basically Messi gets a free-kick for punching Fabinho in the head and scores it, I feel like this needs to be looked at by UEFA."
The petition gained some traction in the hours that followed but despite their best efforts to get UEFA to re-look at the incident, their attempts fell on deaf ears.
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Luckily for Liverpool fans, Messi’s inclusion in the second leg six-days later had no bearing on the result.
Klopp’s side cantered to a famous 4-0 victory - "corner taken quickly... ORIGI!" - in front of a buzzing Anfield crowd to secure a place in the Champions League final.
And the Reds went one better by seeing off Tottenham 2-0 in the final in Madrid to claim their sixth European Cup.