It was during the course of the friendly match between Brazil and Argentina that Messi gestured towards Brazil coach Tite asking him to ‘shut up’.
Lionel Messi gesturing towards Tite. (Photo: Screengrab from Twitter/@globesporte)
Paris Saint-Germain’s (PSG) Brazilian defender Thiago Silva has slammed Lionel Messi for his behaviour towards Brazil head coach Tite. Notably, the Argentina superstar had told the Brazilian tactician to ‘shut up during an international friendly encounter between these two countries in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Friday.
Messi’s strike from the rebound after his penalty kick was saved by Brazil goalie Alisson eventually turned out to be the difference between the two teams. It was during the course of this match that the five-time Ballon d’Or winner gestured towards Brazil coach Tite asking him to ‘shut up’.
“I complained because he [Messi] should have been shown a yellow card and he told me to shut my mouth and I told him to shut his mouth,” Tite said after the match.
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“And that was it. I don’t want to answer any more on it. You need a strong referee because he’ll swallow you… It should have been a card, I was right to complain,” he added.
Post the match, Silva criticised Messi for this gesture. He stated that ‘education comes first despite whoever is playing the contest.
“He wanted to run the game, wanted to blow the whistle. He gave two balls to the ball and the referee did nothing. He argued with the referee and the referee kept laughing. Admiration has to be set aside,” Silva said.
“It’s hard, because we talk so much about education and one of the most admired guys in football say… I’m not going to tell an old man, because he’ll be mad at me, but have a coach shut up. As much as you have a rivalry, education must come first,” he added.
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