Lionel Messi has been banned from playing for his country for three months following comments he made claiming the Copa America was ‘corrupt’.
The Barcelona forward also incurred a $50,000 fine from CONMEBOL, the South American continent’s governing body.
Although he has seven days in which to appeal the decision, as things stand Messi will miss Argentina’s upcoming friendlies with Chile, Mexico and Germany in September and October.
The ban is fairly inconsequential since Messi will not miss any games of real importance. Argentina’s qualifying campaign for the 2022 World Cup gets underway only in March 2020.