I don't really know much about this but apparently Messi abused the linesman and has been banned for 4 games. That would mean that Messi is virtually out of the World Cup Qualifiers. Think this is too harsh since FIFA usually does 4 match bans in cases of violence. And this being told the players and team hours before their match is a bit slow on FIFA's part.

Argentina wouldn't even reach any of Copa America finals or World Cup final without Messi. They would get trashed probably in first knockout-round if they were not out already in the group.

You guys just keep going back to Argentina is shit without Messi, Messi is only Argentina :D

nah m8, but nice b8. we have world class players, the only problem is the coach.

Argentina is similar to belgium and france, amazing players with crap coaches.

Yea that's why I said if Simeone was coach the whole team would fight for every ball and every goal.

@Lio

I'm pretty sure that was because of accumulation of yellows.

Golazo vs Gonzi, something I thought I would never see. The best baiters trying to bait each other lol.

The attackers like Higuain, Aguero.. are all great, but none of them have the impact Messi have. Someone has already posted how defenders have to worry about Messi, which is something I agree with, but Argentina's problems are more at the back. Barcelona too, there's been a lot of moments where Messi has affected the team not only physically, but mentally. In September against A.Madrid, Messi came off injured, and within a minute A.Madrid scored a goal. That's why Messi plays a little more central, so both sides have to worry, as opposed to only one side. It affects his performances a little, but the impact is huge.

Is Messi vital for Argentina? Absolutely. Is Argentina only Messi? No

"According to Argentine paper La Nacion, FIFA will reduce Messi’s ban to just 2 games if he attends an appeal hearing they’ve set for him on the 4th of May.

Having already sat out on game of the suspension, that means he’d have just one more suspended game to sit out."

I guess FIFA can't afford to not have their golden boy attending the World Cup. They'd lose too much money. So now they're deciding to break their own rules to let Argentina qualify. :')

wow that's big news! glad to hear.

A World Cup without Argentina is not a real World Cup anyway.

@Dyn: not that its untrue. But to be fair, 4 games???? 2 games is exactly what Messi deserves.

Noone wanna miss out Messi or Ronaldo in the WC. They bring joys to the game.

Letter of appeal from Messi, I translated it kind of :

Dear Mr. and Mrs. FIFA,

My name is Lionel Andres Messi. I am 29 years old. I like to play football. My friends call me Leo. Maybe if you decide to be nice to me, I will let you call me Leo, too.

The reason I am writing to you is because you have banned me from playing football for four matches because you think I said bad words to the referee. This makes me sad.

I swear on my Lego collection that my words were not directed at the referee. I was just talking to the air as I remembered what Gonzalo Higuain has done to prevent Argentina from winning trophies time and time again. I hate him so much. He is the worst.

The video that made it look like I was saying these words to the referee was clearly edited and cannot be used as evidence against me. As the sculptor who created the bust of Cristiano Ronaldo in Madeira proved, reality can be changed when it passes through someone else’s hands. After all, we all know that in real life Cristiano is much uglier than that bust. LOL.

I assure you that this is all just a misunderstanding. I’m sorry if the referee felt I was insulting him, but I refuse to apologize to Gonzalo Higuain. Again, he is the absolute worst and I hate him with every fiber of my being. Please ban him from football forever. He deserves it.

I hope that my severe indentations on this letter demonstrate my honesty to you or at least confuse you enough to overturn my ban just so you don’t have to read similarly indented letters in the future.

To recap: I did not insult the referee, Gonzalo Higuain is the worst and deserves to be banned forever, there is still a chance I will let you call me Leo, and taxes should be abolished.

Please overturn my ban and let me continue to play until I decide to retire again. That’s all I have to say. Oh, two more things: 1) I’m pretty sure I heard Alexis Sanchez say the same words about Arsene Wenger in the tunnel at halftime. 2) My dog is very large and doesn’t like it when people are mean to me. Just throwing that out there.

Thank you for your consideration. I hope that we can all be friends and maybe go bowling at some point in the future.

Hugs,

Lionel Messi

you missed the firstly, second and thirdly part though. But damn that translation was on point (i know because I work at McDonalds)

@Tiki XD The banter is so real man, great read tiki, great read. Anyway, to remind other people so they don't get butt-hurt at tiki's "traduction", its banter, its only intended to be funny. Read it and have fun. :D +1

@tiki plz tell me if that translations a joke or what!

@lio Its banter like I said in my comment. :P