Lionel Messi rival addresses claims icon refused shirt swap - "He's clearly mad"
LA Galaxy defender Eriq Zavaleta claims Lionel Messi was "clearly mad" after their 1-1 draw with Inter Miami - but denied claims the Argentina icon refused to swap shirts with him.
Messi scored a late equaliser in the game to ensure his side snatched a point having been second-best for much of the game. It proved a frustrating encounter and tensions ran high, with Messi and Luis Suarez involved in a first-half confrontation with Edwin Cerrillo plus LA Galaxy midfielder Mark Delgado being sent off.
Tensions still looked to be running high after the game with footage on social media showing Messi looking animated on the pitch after the game. He was approached by Zavaleta for a high-five after the game and they had a brief exchange, with some on social media believing it showed the Argentinian refusing a request to swap shirts.
However, Zavaleta responded to the clip on social media by laughing and, when asked if he had asked for his shirt, cleared up that he didn't but pointing out Messi was annoyed at the officials when he approached him after the game. Zavaleta wrote: "I never spoke to him lol. He’s clearly mad at the refs but agendas..."
There were plenty of flashpoints in the game, taken charge by replacement referees with the Professional Soccer Referees Association (PSRA) and the Professional Referee Organization (PRO) on strike. Gabriele Ciampi produced a second yellow card for Delgado late on for a tackle on Sergio Busquets.
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However, Busquets himself admitted the tackle was not even a foul, yet alone a booking. The decision has since been rescinded upon appeal by Major League Soccer.
“Yes, there was contact. It was very mild. But it was the referee’s decision about the card,” Busquets said. “I had practically not even seen that he had drawn a card because his back was turned and perhaps he is right that much more is needed for an expulsion, because perhaps it was not even a card.”
Asked if he felt it helped them find a late equaliser, Busquets said: “I’m sure it did because the goal was after the expulsion and playing with one less can always influence it, but it was a referee’s decision about which we can’t do much more.”
Messi's late equaliser rescued a point for Inter Miami (Getty Images)Midfielder Edwin Cerrillo, who squared up to Luis Suarez in the first half, also revealed Messi tried to provoke him and he refused to stay silent.
Cerrillo told TyC Sports : “First I was surprised that [Messi] was talking to me, so I didn’t understand the first thing he said to me, nor did it register with me. He was serious and at that moment I knew I needed to stay calm, because it was early in the game.
“Like with anyone, I wasn’t going to stay silent. And when Suárez and [Sergio] Busquets came to defend [Messi]... Well, it’s nice, but it’s part of football and at that moment was when I had to be calm.”
Asked what Messi said to him, Cerrillo said: “What was said will remain with me, it is something that I will always have in my mind and I will keep that.”
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