September 03, (THEWILL) – Lionel Messi was inches away from a potentially serious injury during the South American Football Association (CONMEBOL) World Cup qualifier between Argentina and Venezuela after Adrian Martinez violently hacked him down.
Martinez jumped into the tackle late and slammed his studs into the top of Messi’s shin, causing the forward to lurch forward and drop to the floor in agony. The potential “leg breaker” occurred in the first half of the 3-1 Argentina win.
Referee Leodan Franklin Gonzalez Cabrera issued a yellow card for the incident. However, the video assistant referee (VAR) motioned Cabrera to review the incident on the pitchside monitor. After assessing the tackle from different angles, Martinez, who had been on the pitch for only 10 minutes, was red-carded.
The replays showed that Messi’s left leg appeared to buckle under the force of the Venezuelan’s tackle. The lateness of the tackle appears more the result of Messi’s fleeting pace than malice. This appeared to be what the referee spent time determining while giving the tackle a proper look on the monitor. From the replays, Messi collected a pass and attempted to skip past Martinez. The defender, who came into the game to replace injured centreback Jose Velazquez, lunged for the ball but was undone by Messi’s pace and caught his standing leg instead.
Fortunately, the quick-footed 34-year-old could dust off the impact and continue for the full 90 minutes of their victory with goals from Lautaro Martinez, Joaquin Correa and Angel Correa.
With the victory, Argentina now have15 points and in second place in the South American World Cup qualifying group behind Brazil, whose 1-0 victory over Chile kept them six points ahead of Argentina. In the CONMEBOL qualifying system, the countries all play each other and rise up the table with each victory.
The top four teams automatically qualify, while the fifth goes into an inter-continental play-off for a final shot at making it to the World Cup.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
