Benin coach Gernot Rohr has complained that his players were barred from photographing or swapping shirts with Lionel Messi after Argentina’s 3-0 friendly win on Tuesday, the superstar’s final match for his country.
“Yes, it was extremely difficult. We tried,” Rohr told French radio station RMC’s “Rothen s’enflamme” on Wednesday. “The only shame is that the Argentines gave us nothing. No photo with Messi, no shirt. They didn’t even let us into the tunnel, nor even the dressing room.”
Security blocked exchanges
The German, a former Nigeria coach, said some Argentine players approached Benin’s squad to trade jerseys, but security staff stopped them.
“Security refused to let anyone in. Some players came to swap shirts, so we knew it would be difficult,” he said. “We tried everything, but we got nothing.”
Benin’s delegation also tried to give Messi a bouquet of flowers in the national colours of yellow, red and green, but did not get to meet him, Rohr said.
Only a signed 2018 shirt
Rohr said his one souvenir came through Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni. “I gave Messi’s 2018 shirt to coach Scaloni, who got him to sign it for me and then returned it to me, but that was all,” he said.
End of an era
Argentina won 3-0 at the Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires. Messi, 39, scored once and set up two goals in the match, which closed a 21-year international career.
Messi called the occasion the “saddest day” of his career. He leaves as Argentina’s most-capped player and top scorer, with 126 goals in 208 appearances.
