November 16 – Lionel Messi is leading a media boycott by the Argentine national team because of “grave and disrespectful” allegations made against a number of his teammates.
The move was sparked by a radio report which alleged forward Ezequiel Lavezzi had smoked marijuana after a training session, which he denies.
Speaking after the team’s 3-0 World Cup qualifier victory over Colombia, the Argentina captain said: “We have decided not to speak anymore with the press. We’ve received many accusations, a lot of lack of respect and we never said anything.
“We know there are lots of you who are not in the game of not showing us respect, but getting into one’s personal life is very grave.”
The entire 25-man squad then proceeded to walk out of the post-match press conference.
Argentina lost two, including 3-0 against arch-rivals Brazil, and drew two before their latest victory which moved them up to fifth place and back into 2018 qualifying contention. The top four in the South America group move straight into the finals, while fifth place qualifies for an intercontinental playoff.
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