WCQ: Leo Messi Explained Reasons For Working Out Of The Pitch Against Brazil

After Argentina’s World Cup qualifier match against Brazil, Lionel Messi explained that the decision to walk off the pitch with his team was made out of respect for their fans.

The Argentina captain said that the team wanted to show the Brazilian fans that they were not intimidated by the hostile atmosphere.

The Argentinian players walked off the pitch in protest after their fans were attacked by police during the match against Brazil.

The fans were left injured and bleeding after the police intervention, and some of them needed medical attention.

The Argentina players rushed to the away section to try to calm the situation, with goalkeeper Emi Martinez even trying to take a baton from one of the police officers.

In the end, Messi made the decision to lead his team off the pitch and back to the dressing room.

After a lengthy delay, the Argentina players re-emerged to play the game, but the match had now taken on a toxic atmosphere, with Brazilian player Rodrygo and Argentina’s De Paul embroiled in a heated argument over the decision to walk off the pitch.

Messi attempted to intervene, but the situation only escalated further.

Once the game finally started, the tension was palpable, and the only goal of the game came from an Otamendi strike.

Joelinton was sent off late on for lashing out at De Paul, capping off a feisty encounter.

Messi during post match conference said: “We saw how the police were hitting people, also with some of our families here too.

“It also happened already in the Libertadores final here too [between Argentine side Boca Juniors and Brazilian side Fluminense]. They are more focused on that than on playing the game.

“We are a family. We went to the locker room because it was the best way to calm everything down, a tragedy could have happened today.”