A Chilean referee has admitted favoring Lionel Messi during a copa America tournament back in 2007.
The South American referee, identified as Chandia openly admitted that he requested for Messi’s jersey during a copa America game.
Chandia was the man given the whistle in Argentina’s 3-0 copa America semi final victory against Mexico in 2007.
In an honest interview, the referee admitted that he was supposed to give a could to Mexico after a handball by Messi.
However, he decided not to give the foul against Messi in exchange of his shirt. He revealed that booking Messi would have prevented him from playing the Final due to cards accumulating.
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“Out of nowhere, Messi handled the ball at midfield, but there was no scoring opportunity for the Mexican team or anything significant,” Chandia recalled to ESPN FShow in Chile via Bolavip.
“I told him, ‘This should be a yellow card, but it’ll cost you your jersey.’ So, I didn’t book him. There were only two and a half minutes left, and the score was 3-0.”
“Giving Messi a yellow card would have cost him the chance to play in the Copa América final. Ironically, that decision ended up costing me the opportunity to officiate the 2007 Copa América final in Venezuela.
“After the game, Messi fulfilled his promise and left the jersey for me in the dressing room. He actually offered to take it off on the field, but I told him, ‘No, no, no; take it to the dressing room.’ And sure enough, he brought it there and left it for me.” The referee added