Lionel Messi, the leader of Argentina, said that what the cops did to the Argentine fans was “crazy” and that it should never happen again.
In a tense World Cup qualifier on Tuesday, Argentina beat Brazil 1-0 on the road. The game was delayed by 30 minutes because cops fought with fans at a sold-out Maracana Stadium.
Lionel Messi, the leader of the world champs, led the players to the stands to try to calm things down. They then left the pitch and didn’t come back for more than 10 minutes.
In TV interviews and a post on his official Instagram account, Messi said nasty things about the Brazilian cops.
A report in La Nacion said that the Argentine captain said, “We saw how they were hitting people.”
“The same thing happened in the Libertadores final, repressing the people with sticks,” he said.
“Some players had family there.” You think about your family and the people there who don’t really understand what’s going on. That’s why you’re more focused on them than on the game, which is not important at that point.
When asked about the second choice, which was to go back to the changing room, Messi said, “We did that because it was a good way to calm down a bit.” Though we were below, we couldn’t do much. We saw them hit the guy and throw him back…Something bad could have happened.
Nicolas Otamendi scored a goal with a huge shot, giving the world champs the win.
“This team keeps making history…” Huge win at the Maracaná, but Argentines will be punished again in Brazil to remember it.It’s crazy and needs to stop right now! This can’t go on!” Messi later wrote something on Instagram.