Lionel Messi refutes accusation of verbally abusing assistant referee

He claimed that he was not swearing at the referee, but rather yelling into the air.

Messi returned to Barcelona on Wednesday night and did not want to talk to the media, but set out his stance in the note he sent to FIFA, which has sanctioned him with a ban from four international matches.

The star player argued that his position is backed by his legacy of conduct, as he has never been sent off throughout his career as a professional soccer player, both with Barça and Argentina, or ever had to face such accusations.

He added that he had a talk with one of the assistant referees in a friendly manner, and in his opinion, did not offend or insult the official.

According to Messi, the accompanying videos, which are edited, do not demonstrate at any time that he offended the first assistant, or broke any code of conduct of FIFA, stressing again that his insult were directed into the air.