Leo Messi headbutt 'normal' according to Barcelona vice president Mestre
Barcelona vice president Jordi Mestre thinks that the Lionel Messi headbutt incident isn’t that serious as it has been made out to be, stating that such things normally happen in football.
The Barcelona star forward was in the headlines on Thursday after he was involved in a heated altercation with midfielder Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa during a friendly match between Barca and AS Roma for the Joan Gamper trophy. Messi reacted furiously by headbutting the former Newcastle man before grabbing him by his throat after the midfielder appeared to have said something to him.
However, teammates Luis Suarez and Neymar quickly stepped in to separate the pair while the match referee Javier Estrada Fernandez also took matters into his own hands by booking both players.
Mestre thinks these incidents are normal when you play football
In the end, the Blaugranas secured a comfortable 3-0 win over the Serie A outfit with Messi getting on the scoresheet for the Camp Nou side. Many felt that the Argentine should have been shown a red card for his behaviour but the referee let them slide under his nose by letting them off with a yellow.
However, Mestre has played down event and is of the opinion that the whole affair wasn’t that big of a deal.
"It is what happens in football games," said Mestre. "I think it is anecdotal and there is no reason for giving this chapter more importance.
"It happens and it will keep happening in the future. It is normal when you play football."
Barcelona will play their first competitive game of the new campaign against familiar La Liga opponents Sevilla in the UEFA Supercup. The defending Champions League winners take on the Europa league holders and Lionel Messi will once again spearhead the Catalan attack alongside the fearsome duo of Luis Suarez and Neymar.
The unstoppable trio scored a total of 122 goals last season breaking the previous record set by the Real Madrid trident Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gaerth Bale.
Meanwhile, Jordi Alba is doubtful for the UEFA Supercup game after the left back picked up an injury during Barca’s clash against Roma. Other than that, Luis Enrique has not much to worry about ahead of the new season as his side commence their La Liga title defense on August 23 where they will travel to Basque country to face Atheltic Bilbao.