Messi announces Argentina players will boycott national press
The players have had enough of the criticism and the stories and have decided to act
The calm which followed Argentina’s win over Colombia on Tuesday didn’t last long. After reducing the tension which had followed the loss to Brazil, putting their spot at the World Cup in two years in doubt, there were a number of rumours surrounding the squad.
Therefore, after the game against Colombia, Messi, as captain and in the name of all the players, appeared in front of the press. He didn’t take questions, though, instead preferring to give a short statement.
He said: “We’re here to communicate to you that we have taken the decision to no longer talk with the press. The accusations that were made towards [Lavezzi] were very serious.
“We regret that it has to be this way, but we are left with no other choice. We know that many of you don’t play that game, but this is too serious and we can’t [talk] anymore.
“No respect was being shown [towards us] and we never said anything. But this accusation against [Lavezzi] was it. We know you’ll continue to criticise us, that’s fine, but we are not going to participate
“These last two weeks have been filled with personal attacks, not football criticism. You can criticise us for winning or losing, but when you get personal we will draw the line.”
The incident Messi was referring to was a journalist claiming Lavezzi had smoked marijuana while with the Argentine national team this week.
