Referee Admits Favoring Lionel Messi After 12-Word Mid-Match Agreement

In 2007, Lionel Messi was given the opportunity to play in the Copa America final against Brazil in exchange for his match-worn shirt, thanks to a former referee.

Carlos Chandia revealed that he chose not to issue Messi a yellow card for a handball during the semi-final match against Mexico—a card that would have meant missing the final. Instead, Chandia used the opportunity to negotiate for Messi’s jersey.

During an appearance on the ESPN FShow, Chandia explained, “Out of the blue, Messi handled the ball in the middle of the pitch, with no goal-scoring chance involved. I told him, ‘This should be a yellow card, but it will cost you your jersey,’ and I didn’t show him the card.”

With just two-and-a-half minutes left and the score at 3-0, Chandia’s decision ensured Messi could participate in the final. Chandia also mentioned that his choice led to him not being selected to officiate the final, but Messi honored his promise and gave him the jersey after the match.

He went on: "He gave me the shirt in the dressing room afterwards. In fact, he wanted to take it off on the pitch and I told him: 'No, no, no, no; take it to the dressing room'. And he came to the dressing room with the jersey and left it there for me."

In 2020, Chandia admitted that his son now has the match-worn shirt. He also reflected on why he wasn't chosen to officiate the Copa America final, suggesting that his decision to forgo the yellow card in exchange for the jersey may have influenced the selection process.

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 that because I didn’t give him the yellow card, Brazilians ended up saying something and that’s why I wasn’t the main referee of the Copa America final."

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While Messi played in the 2007 Copa America final, the match did not go in Argentina’s favor. Brazil took the lead just four minutes in with a deft strike from Julio Baptista, who curled the ball into the net from inside the Argentine area. On the 40-minute mark, Roberto Ayala inadvertently added to Brazil’s tally with a calamitous own-goal. As he attempted to intercept a whipped cross, the ball struck his foot and trickled past a helpless Roberto Abbondanzieri.

Dani Alves sealed Brazil’s 3-0 victory with a goal 69 minutes into the game, breaking through the defense and firing a first-time shot with his right foot. Messi would not secure his first Copa America title with Argentina until 2021, when he finally achieved revenge over Brazil with a 1-0 win at the Estádio do Maracanã, thanks to a 22nd-minute goal from Ángel Di María.