Two months after Lionel Messi lifted his second Copa America trophy with Argentina, former FIFA referee Carlos Chandia admitted favoring the Inter Miami icon in the 2007 Copa America semifinals in exchange of his jersey.
Argentina had a great run in 2007. With Messi surrounded by stars such as Carlos Tevez, Juan Sebastian Veron and Juan Roman Riquelme, La Albiceleste were looking for their first continental trophy in 14 years.
With 16 goals scored and only 3 goals allowed during the competition, Messi and company set up a meeting against Mexico in the semifinal, officiated by Chilean referee Carlos Chandia. Many years later, the official revealed he benefited Argentina in a controversial play involving the 8x Ballon d’Or winner.
“Out of nowhere, Messi lifts a ball and touches it with his hand, butit’s at midfield. There was no goal-scoring chance for the Mexican team or anything like that. So, I told him: ‘This play is a yellow card, but it will cost you your jersey.’ And I didn’t show him the yellow card; there were two and a half minutes left, and the score was 3-0,” Chandia told ESPN FShow in Chile.
Later on, the Chilean referee explained the reason behind his controversial decision: “Showing him the yellow card would have taken away his chance to play in the Copa América final. In the end, that yellow card cost me the opportunity to referee the 2007 Copa América final in Venezuela.”
Messi granted the referee’s wish after helping Argentina in Copa America
According to Chandia, Messi granted the ref’s wish and gifted him his jersey after the game: “He went to leave the jersey in the dressing room afterward. In fact, he wanted to take it off on the field, and I told him: ‘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.”
After this episode, Messi was able to play in the Copa America final against Brazil. However, the outcome wasn’t the expected for the Argentine team: La Albiceleste lost 3-0 against the Selecao, leaving Messi trophyless.