Referee admits he didn’t give Lionel Messi a yellow card after making agreement that he could have his shirt… and booking would have ruled Argentine out of Copa America final

Former referee Carlos Chandia has shockingly admitted he spared Lionel Messi a yellow card after agreeing he could keep his match shirt.

Argentina were already one foot in the 2007 Copa América final when the incident occurred. Messi and co were leading 3-0 against Mexico with minutes to go.

Chandia said on the ESPN FShow: ‘Out of nowhere, Messi lifts the ball and touches it with his hand, but in the middle of the field.

“There was no chance of a goal for the Mexican team or anything like that. So I told him, ‘This is a yellow card, but it will cost you your shirt,’ and I didn’t show him the yellow card.

‘There were two and a half minutes left and the score was 3-0. Giving him a yellow card would have taken away his chance of playing in the Copa America final (because of the suspension).’

“He gave me the shirt in the dressing room after the game. In fact, he wanted to take it off on the pitch and I said to him, ‘No, no, no, no; take it to the dressing room.’ And he came to the dressing room with the shirt and left it there for me.”

Chandia previously revealed that his son now has the shirt and that he feels his decision not to show Messi the card cost him his chance to referee the final.

He told TNT Chile: “I don’t remember the number, but I remember the smell. Not the best. My son has it now, he keeps it.

“The truth is that I think the Brazilians said something because I didn’t give him a yellow card, and that’s why I wasn’t the main referee during the Copa America final.”

Messi’s presence in the final ultimately made little difference, with the Brazilian winning 3-0 thanks to an own goal from Roberto Ayala and strikes from Julio Baptista and Dani Alves.