Monterrey coach calls Lionel Messi  a ‘possessed dwarf’ with ‘the face of the devil’ in leaked audio before offering questionable apology while omitting Inter Miami star’s name

Lionel Messi was called a “possessed dwarf” with “the face of the devil” by a Monterrey assistant coach in leaked audio after a tunnel confrontation during last week’s CONCACAF Champions Cup match in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Monterrey assistant coach Nico Sánchez has since apologized for his comments, although he neglected to mention Messi’s name, instead directing his regrets at Inter Miami coach Tata Martino, whom he called a “poor dummy” in the leaked audio .

The clash took place before Monterrey’s 2-1 win over Inter Miami in the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions Cup quarter-final.

Although Messi was ruled out ahead of the match due to a hamstring injury, he, Jordi Alba, Luis Suárez and Martino were reportedly in a mixed zone confrontation with Monterrey players and coach outside the visitors’ dressing room.

USA Today reports thisthe argument stemmed from Inter Miami players approaching officials in the tunnel after a match in which their side received six yellow cards and one red card, compared to just three bookings for Monterrey.

Since the confrontation in the tunnel, audio of Sánchez discussing the altercation in the locker room has been leaked to Fox Sports MX.

“The dwarf was possessed, he had the face of the devil,” Sánchez said. “He put his fist next to my face and said, ‘Who do you think you are?’ But because I wasn’t looking at him, I looked away, I never replied back, it just made things worse.

‘And Tata Martino, what a poor dummy, I had him in front of me and said: ‘You fool, are you going to cry? Are you foolish to cry?’ What a dummy! They probably deleted all those videos because they looked bad.

‘What they did was really serious. They want to pollute the field.’

Since the release of the audio, Sánchez has apologized on social media, although he failed to mention Messi.

“As I do not know Inter coach Gerardo (Tata) Martino, I referred to him in a disrespectful manner and I apologize,” Sánchez said. ‘I am as Argentinian as all of them and I will always defend my club. I’m here to show my face and take charge.’

Inter Miami head coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino sits on the bench during their April 6 match

Things were already tense between the two clubs ahead of last week’s match. At one point, Monterrey head coach Fernando Ortiz accused the officials of favoring Messi’s team.

“Everything around Messi can lead to sporting and non-sporting decisions,” Ortiz said. “I’m concerned about the environment, football is business, business doesn’t go like Monterrey.”

The two teams will meet again on Wednesday evening in the second leg of the quarterfinals at the Estadio BBVA in Guadalupe.

Messi appears likely to play on Wednesday after appearing in each of Inter Miami’s last matches – a 2-2 draw against Colorado in which he scored a goal and had a total of five shots.