Lionel Messi brands official a 'coward' in furious incident during Argentina defeat

Fans have accused Lionel Messi of 'disrespect' after he confronted referee Anderson Daronco during Argentina's heated World Cup qualifier against Paraguay.

It was an evening to forget for La Albiceleste and their players, who suffered a 2-1 defeat at the Defensores del Chaco Stadium, Paraguay.

Lionel Scaloni's side took an early lead through in-form striker Lautaro Martinez but after Antonio Sanabria levelled the scores with a spectacular overhead kick, the visitors struggled to bounceback.

After a far-from-convincing first-half, Argentina conceded a second shortly after the restart, when Paraguay defender Omar Alderete headed home from a free-kick following a foul on Brighton's Julio Enciso.

Lionel Messi, meanwhile, was unusually quiet throughout and on numerous occasions, he expressed his frustration at the unfolding events.

In the first-half, Messi was fouled on numerous occasions by Alderete but referee Anderson Daroco failed to show the defender a second yellow.

Messi was soon captured confronting Daronco over Alderete's tackles. He could be seen throwing his finger in the referee's face and, according to The Mirror, he is alleged to have told the referee: "You are a coward, I don’t like you".

Here's how fans on social media reacted to the below incident.

One said: "The player who scored the 2-1 goal for Paraguay should have been sent off earlier in the game, Messi was telling the referee that he made a mistake, and he was right."

A second wrote: "The 'humble' Lionel Messi disrespecting yet another referee. Messi told the referee: 'You're a coward, and I don't like you!' Imagine if Cristiano Ronaldo did something like this."

A third commented: "Messi rightfully angry at the referee. He received two very harsh tackles in the first half," and a fourth added: "This is embarrassing and disgraceful. He always gets away with it."

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Speaking after the full-time whistle, Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni refused to criticise his players.

"I’m here to support them," Scaloni said in his post-match comments. "We knew it was going to be a tough match. We’re here to move forward. In the first half, we played a good game, but the first action at the start of the second half made everything more difficult.

"We have to congratulate the opponent, who defended very well."

Scaloni added: "I don’t know if they found the antidote. We’re hoping to get back on the positive path. The team always tries and stands tall. That’s what’s important: never giving up on the game and always having the desire to compete.”