Argentina captain, Lionel Messi, has told the media in his home country, that he and his team-mates will no longer grant interviews, after a journalist claimed Ezequiel Lavezzi was dropped, because he was caught smoking cannabis at the team’s training camp.
Lavezzi did not make the squad, who beat Colombia 3-0 in a 2018 World Cup qualifier on Tuesday and reporter Gabriel Anello tweeted that it was because the player was caught with intoxicants.
“Lavezzi is left off the substitutes’ bench tomorrow because of the joint that was smoked last night in the camp? I’m asking… just asking.” Anello said on Twitter.
Already, Lavezzi has vowed to take legal action. But Messi led all 23 players into the news conference, where he spoke about their decision to ignore the press.
“We’re here to let you know that we will no longer be communicating with the press,” Messi said.
“The accusations that were made towards Lavezzi were huge. We regret that it has to be this way but we have no other choice. We know that many of you don’t play that game.
“We were accused a lot. No respect was being shown and we never said anything. But this accusation against Lavezzi was it. If we don’t stop it today, we’ll never stop it. We know that you will continue to criticize us, that’s fine. However, some got into our personal lives.
“We wanted to say this in front of everyone and not release a statement. We didn’t want to hide from anyone. These past two weeks were filled with personal aggression, not football criticism. You can criticize us for winning or losing, but when you get personal, we will draw the line.”
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