Former Referee Admits To Not Booking Lionel Messi In 2007 Copa America In Exchange For His Shirt

Former football referee Carlos Chandia has admitted that he refrained from booking Lionel Messi to get his match-worn shirt. Speaking to ESPN on the FShow, Chandia explained how he did not book the Argentine for a handball during the 2007 Copa America which would have prevented him from missing the final. But the referee demanded the Argentine’s shirt after the match in exchange for the favour.

“There was no goal-scoring chance for the Mexican team or anything like that. So, I told him: ‘This is a yellow card, but it will cost you your jersey,’ and I didn’t show him the yellow card,” he said, as per multiple outlets.

The incident occurred during the 2007 Copa America semi-final between Argentina and Mexico. La Albiceleste led the match 3-0, courtesy of goals from Gabriel Heinze, Roman Riquelme and Lionel Messi himself. Moments ahead of the final whistle, Argentina were close to being handed a huge disadvantage by losing Messi in the final. The Barcelona icon was one yellow card away from suspension when he got involved in the handball offence. Speaking about the foul’s significance, Carlos Chandia said, “There were two-and-a-half minutes left, and the score was 3-0. Showing him a yellow card would have taken away his chance of playing in the Copa America final.”

Being one of the greatest players of all time, the fandom for Messi has transcended boundaries across the world. Fans from different countries go to any extent to get their hands on a souvenir of their favourite player. Even Chilean referee Chandia could not help himself from taking a shot at getting a piece of history. Speaking about how his offer was accepted by Messi, the referee said, “He gave me the shirt in the dressing room afterwards. In fact, he wanted to take it off on the pitch and I told him: ‘No, 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.”

Fortunately for Chandia, his decision did not directly have an impact on the outcome of the 2007 Copa America final. But he did admit that his sneaky offer on the field led to him not being chosen as referee for the ultimate game. Lionel Messi and Argentina eventually ended up losing the final in Venezuela. Brazil proved to be the better side as they got the better of Argentina by three goals to nil with Julio Baptista, Roberto Ayala and Dani Alves finding the back of the net.