Lionel Messi has been handed a three-month ban from international football, a fallout of his Copa America outbursts.
Argentina captain Lionel Messi will be absent from all the matches played by his national team until November, a consequence of his “corruption” outbursts last month.
The Barcelona forward has also been slapped a fine of $50,000 (£41,121) by Conmebol, the South American Football Confederation.
Messi, 32, was sent off in Argentina's 2-1 third-place play-off win over Chile and later said the cup was fixed for Brazil, claiming the Copa America was “corrupt”.
The ban will see the 2019 Balon D'or nominee miss friendly matches against Chile (September 5), Mexico (September 10), and Germany (October 10) – in addition to the one-match World Cup qualifying match for being sent off.
Messi has seven days to appeal Conmebol's decision to suspend him.
