Messi Dismissal Bemuses Argentina Boss Scaloni

By Max Wise

Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni says he has failed to come to terms with what prompted Lionel Messi’s dismissal in the Copa America third-place play-off final game on Saturday.

A tempestuous encounter at the Arena Corinthians in Sao Paulo that ended in a 2-1 win for Argentina over Chile saw Lionel Messi and Gary Medel sent off for a coming together eight minutes before half time.

The two captains clashed after Medel reacted angrily to a nudge by Messi, prompting referee Mario Diaz de Vivar to send both men off.

 Asked about Messi's red card, Scaloni told reporters: "I have seen the video and so far, I do not understand what he did to have been expelled.

"It would be interesting if the referee came out to public to speak exactly what he saw and also the men of the VAR.

"Obviously, he made a very quick decision, very strange, and worst of all is that the VAR does not correct, because for this there is the VAR. The VAR is here to help, and today it did not help."

Scaloni added: "We have already seen a few times expulsions in which the referee returns in the decision and shows the yellow card. This is what should have happened in this case.

"If you look well, Messi did nothing. Well, they did not go back on the decision, they did not review it. I think the criterion is very strange. The other day Uruguay, I think it was by the nail of the foot, by the finger of Cavani pointed offside. They reviewed the video 55 times to try to justify, and with our team, everything that is against, is not reviewed.

"Not a good feeling, honestly. I do not want to think badly, but the feeling does not convince me. It does not convince our team, nor the Chileans, that we play today, Uruguay... There were many teams that had a bad feeling about this matter, and we were the most harmed because today we would be speaking in another situation."