Brazil defender, Thiago Silva has slammed Argentine captain, Lionel Messi for his conduct during Argentina’s 1-0 victory over the Selecao in an international friendly encounter on Friday night in Saudi Arabia.
Messi who scored the only goal of the match, told Brazil coach, Tite to shut up when he exchanged words with the Selecao boss.
Messi and Tite exchanged words in the opening half, with the Barcelona captain seen putting his fingers to his lips as the Brazil boss complained to the referee.
Reacting to the development, Silva accused Messi of showing signs of disrespect, adding that the 32-year-old was guilty of trying to officiate matches on his own and place too much pressure on the officials.
“Messi wanted to rule over the game,” Silvan was quoted by Metro UK as saying after the match.
“He kicked two people and the referee did nothing.
“I argued with the ref and he kept laughing. You have to put admiration to one side.
“He always looks to force the referee to give them free-kicks in dangerous areas, he always acts in that way.
“We spoke with some players who play in Spain and the same thing happens, he looks to control the game and the referee’s decisions.
“You don’t see him trying to rule so much. There are referees that, because of their admiration for him, start to weigh in on his side. That we didn’t have Neymar on our side was a disadvantage.
“It’s hard to understand when we talk about respect on the pitch, and one of the most admired players in the world does that, you don’t do that to an older person but being that it was a coach. As much as there is rivalry, respect has to come first.”
