Barcelona star Lionel Messi of Argentina embraces teammate Neymar of Brazil (Photo : Reuters)
Argentine star Lionel Messi said that he is sorry about what happened to his Barça teammate and friend Neymar of the Brazilian national team, according to BBC Sport.
"Neymar is a friend and I care about him. I'm sorry about the suspension he was given because I believe he is a very important player for Brazil," Messi told reporters in a postgame interview after his team beat Jamaica during the last day of Group B matches in the 2015 Copa America.
Neymar was banned for four games by the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) after triggering an almost free-for-all after their second round match against Colombia on June 17.
With the match already over, the 23-year-old Seleção captain kicked the ball toward the back of Los Cafeteros defender Pablo Armero and then looked as if he head butted another Colombian defender, Jeison Murillo, who tried to pacify him.
What made his punishment worse was his alleged confronting of referee Enrique Osses in the tunnel after the commotion. It was reported that he fired offensive words on Osses, which led to him being suspended for four international games.
Meanwhile, after acknowledging that Brazil's chances of winning the Copa will surely diminish, Messi was consoled that his team reached their first goal of the tournament, which is to top Group competitions.
The Argentine captain also said that they are beginning a new Copa as they enter the quarterfinals against Colombia, the team responsible for his friend Neymar's expulsion.
"We reached the first goal, which was to advance in first place,'' Messi said, via ESPN. "We played a great first half and we could've scored more, but in the second we didn't have the same intensity, everything was slower. In the knockout matches we can't let that happen."
