Argentina’s captain, Lionel Messi, gave an explanation for why he escorted his team from the field to the locker room after their 1-0 victory over Brazil in their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying match yesterday.
The players from Argentina had left the field in protest over the police attacks on their supporters during the match.
Before the World Cup qualifier began, there were some very unpleasant events at the Maracana Stadium. During the Brazilian national anthem, police charged at the visiting supporters.
The Argentina players hurried over to the away end in an attempt to diffuse the tension while some supporters were left wounded, bruised, and in need of medical attention.
Emi Martinez, the goalkeeper for Argentina, was once even observed attempting to take a baton from a police officer.
In the end, though, Messi made the decision to guide his team off the field and back to the locker room.
Following a protracted break, Argentina’s players returned to the field, but the intense tension had now transferred onto the field, with Brazilian forward Rodrygo and Argentinean Rodrigo De Paul disputing about whether or not to go back to the dressing room.
Messi tried to step in, but the situation continued to worsen.
When play finally began, it was an intense and competitive battle in which Nicolas Otamendi scored the game’s lone goal and Joelinton was sent off for yelling at De Paul
Messi told reporters during the game, “We saw how the police were hitting people, and some of our families were here too.”
The Libertadores final between Boca Juniors of Argentina and Fluminense of Brazil also included an incident similar to this one. Their attention is primarily on it rather than the game.
“We belong to a family. Since there was a chance for disaster today, we decided that going to the locker room would be the best approach to diffuse the tension.
