Messi to declare in Zurich in May regarding Argentina ban
The date falls two days before Barcelona's La Liga game against Villarreal
The president of the AFA is due in Spain to speak with him in the coming days
On May 4 Lionel Messi will have to be in Zurich. On that day, a Thursday 48 hours before Barcelona play Villarreal at Camp Nou, he must declare in front of FIFA as he bids to reduce the four game ban given to him for his abuse of an official during Argentina's win over Chile.
Messi has already served the first of those four games, missing his side's loss to Bolivia in La Paz. However, he hopes to have the ban cut short and return sooner, with Argentina's World Cup hopes in the balance. They are currently fifth in South American qualifiying -- only the top four are guaranteed a spot in Russia, the fifth team will take part in a playoff.
The Barcelona star was punished for directing "insulting words" at an assistant referee during his country's 1-0 win over Chile, when he scored the winning goal. His actions were not included in the referee's post game report, but action was taken after television footage of the incident emerged.
But the AFA are fighting for the ban to be reduced. They have presented an appeal and that is why Messi has to go to Zurich to declare. The president of the AFA, Claudio Tapia, has already announced that the will travel to Barcelona to speak with Leo this week about the situation.
"I want to talk with Messi about the suspension, which is a high priority at the moment for the AFA," said Tapia, denying that he will take advantage of the trip to speak with Sevilla coach Jorge Sampaoli, who has emerged as the front-runner to take the Argentina job after the sacking of Edgardo Bauza earlier this week.
