Courtesy: X
On Thursday, November 14, Lionel Messi, the captain of Argentina, angrily confronted the referee Anderson Daronco during his team’s 1-2 defeat against Paraguay in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifier at the Estadio Defensores del Chaco in Asuncion. During a pulsating battle at half-time, Messi was visibly frustrated at Daronco for his decisions in the field, pointing finger while seemingly calling him a “coward” to his face.
As per some reports, in the viral clip on the X platform, Lionel Messi called Anderson Daronco, “You are a coward. I don’t like you!,” after the score read 1-1 at half-time with a goal from Lautaro Martinez in the 11th minute for Argentina before Antonio Sanabria equalised for the hosts just eight minutes later. At the beginning of the second half, In the 47th minute, Paraguay took the 2-1 lead through an Omar Alderete goal before they managed to hold on for a win.
Watch the video of Lionel Messi insulting referee:
Messi and Argentina were protesting some contentious decisions in favour of Paraguay
The biggest point of contention from Argentina players, including their captain Lionel Messi, was the leniency shown towards Omar Alderete, whose aggressive tackling wasn’t punished in their eyes. Following their tough defeat, Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni defended Lionel Messi and the rest of his team and remarked, as per Pulse Sports, “I'm not here to criticise my players, I'm here to support them. We knew it was going to be a tough game. We're here to keep going and give confidence to many of the new players.”
Despite their recent defeat, Argentina are firmly in first place in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifier standings in South America with 22 points in 11 matches, three points ahead of Colombia with one match in hand. Brazil is in third place with just 17 points in 11 matches, one point ahead of Uruguay, Ecuador, and Paraguay, with only six teams directly qualifying for the showpiece football event in two year’s time.
