Lionel Messi backed by Brazil captain Dani Alves in referee criticism as Argentina lodge official complaint after Copa America loss
Brazil beat Argentina 2-0 to advance to the Copa America final, but the semi-final was not without incident and Messi called the officiating bulls**t
Brazil captain Dani Alves has agreed with Lionel Messi’s criticism of referee Roddy Zambrano in Tuesday’s Copa America semi-final.
Brazil booked their place in the final at the expense of Argentina thanks to goals from Gabriel Jesus and Roberto Firmino.
However, Ecuadorian official Roddy Zambrano refused to consult VAR when Nicolas Otamendi and Sergio Aguero appeared to have been fouled in the penalty box.
Barcelona legend Messi hit out at ‘bull****’ refereeing after the game and former team-mate Alves, who won the man of the match award, sided with him.
The right-back said: ”The referee was more nervous than us, I understand Leo.”
Argentina have lodged an official complaint to CONMEBOL, football's governing body in South America, about the standard of refereeing during the Brazil loss.
The damaging defeat has extended Messi’s wait for an international trophy after losing in previous Copa America and World Cup finals.
A frustrated Messi said: “They were not better than us. They found the net early and the second goal came from a penalty they didn’t award.
“The officiating was crazy. There were clear penalties, on Nicolas Otamendi, on Sergio Agüero.
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“He [the referee] was on their side. In every divided ball or dispute, he inclined the pitch their way.
“It’s not an excuse, but the truth is that, in this Copa, they kept on blowing for stupid things, for handballs, penalties.
“But today, they didn’t even go to VAR when there were clear plays that should have been looked at.”