Argentina won the bronze medal at Copa America 2019 after defeating Chile in the third-place match, but the match was overshadowed by an ugly incident in the first half. Messi and Gary ‘The Pitbull’ Medel almost fought, after when the Argentinian star tried to save a strong pass from his teammate but failed. Medel, known as one of the most difficult players in South American football, ran over Messi, making it impossible for the Argentinian player to touch the ball.

Perhaps because he was helpless in that situation, Messi gently pushed Medel. Medel then rushed at Messi and the two began nudging each other, until the referee quickly rushed forward and gave each of them a red card. It was the first time Messi received a red card since his unsuccessful debut for Argentina, but his team still won 2-1 against Chile.

Messi did not attend the awards ceremony, and later complained to the media about Argentina’s semi-final against Brazil. “There is no doubt that the whole thing was set up for Brazil. I don’t want to be part of this corruption, we don’t deserve to be part of the disrespect that we must “We could have gone further but we weren’t allowed into the final,” La Pulga said angrily.