LA Times · Aug 6, 2015
Watch Barcelona's Lionel Messi headbutt, choke player during 'friendly' match
Barcelona forward Lionel Messi grabs AS Roma defender Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa by the throat during a friendly match Wednesday at Camp Nou stadium.Just because they call it a "friendly" doesn't mean you have to act that way.
Take Barcelona star forward Lionel Messi, for example.
On Wednesday, during one of these so-called matches, Messi can be seen going skull-to-skull with AS Roma's Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa during the 34th minute of the game before delivering a headbutt and then grabbing the larger defender by the throat.
It seems a bit over the line, but Messi and Yanga-Mbiwa only received yellow cards for the incident given the "friendly" nature of the game.