Barcelona star Lionel Messi was suspended for four Argentina matches by FIFA on Tuesday for swearing at an assistant referee, a ban that will see the striker miss out on decisive qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup. Messi was found guilty of "having directed insulting words at an assistant referee" in the World Cup qualifier against Chile last Thursday which Argentina won 1-0 thanks to a penalty from the Barcelona hitman.
Messi will be forced to sit out Argentina's next South American qualifying game against Bolivia, scheduled for later on Tuesday, with the remainder of the suspension served over his country's subsequent World Cup qualifiers: in Uruguay on August 31, at home to Venezuela on September 5 and against Peru on October 5. He was also fined 10,000 Swiss francs (9,350 euros, $10,170), with FIFA saying: "This decision is in line with the FIFA Disciplinary Committee's previous rulings in similar cases."