Journalist slams Lionel Messi for his reaction on social media following Argentina's 2024 Olympics loss to Morocco
Brazilian journalist Milly Lacombe criticized Lionel Messi after he reacted to the Argentina U-23 team's loss to Morocco in the Olympics opening match in Paris on July 24. The opening match initially ended in a 2-2 draw and had to be suspended due to security reasons.
An hour and a half after the match was over, VAR ruled out Argentina's final equalizing goal by Cristian Medina in the 90+16th minute due to offside. The players returned to the pitch to play the remaining four minutes as the match was dismissed abruptly.
Lionel Messi took to Instagram soon after the match and wrote "insolito" on his story, which loosely translates to "unusual." The Argentine was clearly displeased with the result.
Speaking to UOL Esporte about Messi's reaction to the match result, Milly Lacombe criticized the Argentine legend for remaining silent about his teammates singing a racist chant aimed at the French national team.
“This Messi who rushed to social networks on vacation to show indignation with the refereeing at the Olympics was the same one who fell silent when his teammates sang the racist song after winning the Copa America. What about someone so tiny?” Lacombe said.
Lacombe also pointed out that Leo Messi is a leader and implored that he should have given an official statement about the racism scandal featuring his teammates.
“It is not certain if Messi was present or if he sang. But it doesn’t matter. Messi is the greatest football player in the world, the absolute leader of this team, and he would have to speak out in an official and forceful way. Silent. He chickened out. It became tiny,” she added.
The video featured multiple La Albiceleste players singing a racist song aimed at the French national team during their celebrations after winning the 2024 Copa America.
Lionel Messi is set to miss the MLS All-Star Week on July 25
Ahead of the MLS All-Star Week slated to start on July 25, Inter Miami shared an official statement on Miami Herald confirming that Lionel Messi and his teammate Luis Suarez will not take part in the All-Star week due to different injuries.
Both Messi and Suarez were named in the MLS All-Star team and were due to face the Liga MX All-Star team on July 25.
“Lionel Messi will miss the All-Star Game due to an ankle injury, while Luis Suarez, who recently returned from international duty after over 40 days away from the club, will miss the All-Star Game due to knee discomfort. Their availability for Saturday’s League’s Cup match will be assessed based on their daily recovery process.” the statement said.
Lionel Messi suffered an ankle injury in the Copa America final against Colombia on July 14. He was subbed off in the second-half, but Argentina won 1-0, thanks to Lautaro Martinez's goal in extra time.