Argentina captain Lionel MESSI has been handed a four match suspension for verbal abuse of an assistant referee. He will miss four matches in the CONMEBOL group phase as a result of the incident, which occurred late in Argentina’s 1-0 win over Chile on THU 23 MAR 2017.

Late in the match, assistant referee Emerson CARVALHO flagged for a foul on Messi. Messi responded by protesting vehemently and, according to reports, using profane language. FIFA’s disciplinary committee ruled that Messi had “directed insulting words at an assistant referee”. FIFA took action because referee Sandro RICCI did not observe the incident.

Messi missed the match against Bolivia on TUE 28 MAR 2017 and is due to miss all but one of Argentina’s remaining group phase matches. He will again be available for selection on TUE 10 OCT 2017, when Argentina are away to Ecuador.