FC Barcelona and Argentina captain Lionel Messi told his national team to boycott all media duties after their win over Colombia following a drug-abuse accusation made against one of their teammates.
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During the week there were reports going around saying that Ezequiel Lavezzi was left out of his country's latest 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier because he was caught smoking marijuana at the team's training base.
After Argentina's 3-0 win over Colombia, Messi stood in front of his squad at the post match conference and announced that none of his players will be talking to the press following the scandalous claims.
"We have made the decision not to talk to the press anymore, obviously you know why," said Messi, as quoted by Yahoo Sport.
"There were a lot of accusations, a lot of disrespect, and the accusations they made against 'Pocho' (Lavezzi) are very serious.
"We know that most of you guys don't play that game of disrespect. We can be criticised if we lose, or win, or if we play well or badly. But this is getting into personal lives. If we don't put a stop to it now, we'll never stop it."
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It is believed that Lavezzi, who now plays his football for Chinese side Hebei Fortune, will be taking legal action against the journalist who wrote the story.
Do you think Messi has shown a great leadership here? Have your say in the comments section below.
