April 18 – Lionel Messi could have his four-match international suspension halved at an appeal hearing next month, according to Argentina reports.
The Barcelona maestro was handed the ban by FIFA after a verbal outburst against a match official in Argentina’s win over Chile in March.
Messi has already missed the 2-0 defeat to Bolivia and could be excluded from World Cup qualifiers against Uruguay, Paraguay and Venezuela. But the Argentine newspaper La Nation claims he could be set for a reprieve and that his comments were not actually insulting.
Chiqui Tapia, president of the Argentine FA, has confirmed he is heading to Switzerland for the disciplinary hearing on May 4 but whether Messi himself plans to turn up is not yet known.
Tapia told the Argentine news agency Telam: “Messi has been summoned by FIFA to present his testimony on May 4 regarding his four-match ban after the game against Chile. It’s important that he concurs with the AFA lawyers in order to give his testimony.”
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