The Barcelona forward believes he has been unfairly punished with a four-match ban, insisting his insults were not aimed at an official
Argentina captain Lionel Messi has protested his innocence after being handed a four-match ban for abusing an official, insisting his insults were aimed "to the air".
The Barcelona star scored the only goal of the game in a World Cup qualifying win against Chile, but his second-half clash with an assistant led to a ban in the hours before a second crucial clash with Bolivia.
Argentina lost 2-0 in La Paz without their star player and Messi is adamant that the ban is unfair as he did not direct his frustrations towards the officials.