Whenever a star player is stuck with any kind of controversy, it is obvious his stardom would help him ease with lots of things that could otherwise land him in problem and this is something that itch not so famous players and so they raise their strong objection over this tradition being followed by the soccer fraternity. Last month’s Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid was one such game that saw rather a minor collision between left-back Filipe Luis and Messi that cost Brazil international a straight Red Card for his tackle over the Argentine international. Since Messi was the victim, disciplinary committee acted too fast and slapped a three-match ban over 30-year-old which later reduced to one game after official appeal by the Vicente Calderón side. Does not matter if it was a mistake of referee, everyone was grossly favoring five time FIFA Player of the year without any empathy to the Atletico defender who nonetheless got the support of his side later on.
Recalling the incident that was prejudicially handled by the disciplinary committee, 30-year-old told in a TV interview, “It was a red card, it was not a mistake by the referee, it was a red card. I went out on the field and that was it, a one-match suspension and I served it.
“I was not late, I went after the ball. Now that type of play happens during every match, but because it was with Messi and because here he is the darling of the media and La Liga, obviously no one wants to see one of the best players of all time taken out. No one wants to miss a chance to see him play and that is why all of this happened.”
Looking at the heat generated by the controversy and if La Liga carries any partiality to star players, president Javier Tebas spoke last Monday and favored their impartial practices to inquire any in-ground controversy, he said, “For us, all the players are protected in La Liga. We don’t differentiate between Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo or a player from Rayo Vallecano. We are creating a global league and the big and small clubs all matter to us.”
It doesn’t matter what any of the two sides is saying now, it is true that star players enjoy some leverage whenever they are involved in any controversy – remember former Liverpool player Suarez’s biting episode during World cup and how Reds tried their hard to let it go until severe pressure built up over the disciplinary committee to ban him for his inhuman act on ground?
