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Lionel Messi once avoided Copa América final suspension after jersey trade with ref

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Lionel Messi once avoided Copa América final suspension after jersey trade with ref
Photo: Luis Acosta/GETTY IMAGES
A former referee has explained why he spared Lionel Messi from a yellow card that would have suspended him for the 2007 Copa América final.

Chilean referee Carlos Chandia was in charge of the Copa América semi-final clash between Argentina and Mexico in 2007.

During the match, which Argentina won 3-0, Messi could have easily been booked and due to the accumulation of yellow cards, he would miss the final against Brazil.

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However, Chandia decided to bargain with the Argentina superstar and offered him a spot in the final in exchange for his match-worn jersey.

Speaking to ESPN on the FShow, Chandia said:

Out of nowhere, Messi lifts a ball and touches it with his hand, but in the middle of the pitch.

There were two-and-a-half minutes left, and the score was 3-0. Showing him a yellow card would have taken away his chance of playing in the Copa América final.

There was no goal-scoring chance for the Mexican team or anything like that. So, I told him, "This is a yellow card, but it will cost you your jersey," and I didn't show him the yellow card.

Incredibly, the offer was accepted with Messi offering up his shirt at the end of the game.

He gave me the shirt in the dressing room afterwards. In fact, he wanted to take it off on the pitch and I told him, "No, no, no, no; take it to the dressing room."

And he came to the dressing room with the jersey and left it there for me.

Messi's presence in the final ultimately made little difference, though, as Argentina were beaten 3-0 at the Estadio José Encarnación Romero in Venezuela.

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