Look, superstars don’t like unwelcome touches.
Surely that’s true for most people, but the way Lionel Messi hit the deck after Malaga defender Weligton grabbed his neck reinforces that both Messi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic aren’t feeling the stranger danger.
This isn’t excusing Weligton, who has an excuse by the way, as there’s never any reason to use any sort of choke move on the soccer pitch. Aside from the screen grab above representing the defender saying “Look at this adorable face” like my aunt at Thanksgiving, it’s not cool.
Before we go any further, let’s watch the video:
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Weligton claims that Messi called him a “son of a wh*re”, according to reports. They only substituted the ‘o’ because wh**e could be whale and w**** could be wacko. So it’s about clarity.
Barca players were pleading with the referee to send the Brazilian defender off for his actions, though he only received a booking, but Weligton has hit back by insisting that Messi initiated the confrontation by hurling verbal abuse at him when they squared up in the 81st minute of the game.
“I tried to prevent him from passing the ball and, after the move finished, Messi turned to me and called me a son of a wh*re,” the veteran centre-back, 35, told Cope .
As well as Weligton going into the referee’s book, Gerard Pique was yellow carded for his over-the-top remonstrations for the Malaga man to see red. Barca remain top of La Liga with 13 points after five games, ahead of second-placed Sevilla on goal difference, while Malaga are placed 10th with six points.
Discipline is more likely forthcoming for Weligton than Messi for a variety of reasons, but certainly the Argentine superstar won’t like his alleged vocabulary usage going public. And Weligton certainly needs some sort of excuse in order to rationalize his behavior ahead of any possible punishment.
Messi exaggerates his fall back, but that’s expected from any player in that circumstance. Not excusing it, but also not going to vilify Messi for a near universal reaction.
