Messi's farewell match in Buenos Aires

Lionel Messi's final game with the Argentine national team took place on October 6 in Buenos Aires, a moment of deep emotion for Argentinians but also a source of controversy regarding how the Benin national team was treated during the event.

Benin players felt excluded

Tunde Adelakun, assistant coach of Benin, said his team felt left out of the celebrations and described the interactions with Argentina's players as cold and uninterested. The Benin squad had traveled to Buenos Aires hoping to share the historic moment of Messi's farewell with him and his team.

Interactions with Argentina were tense

Adelakun noted that the Argentine team avoided engaging with Benin players, with handshakes being brief and lacking enthusiasm. Security personnel also reacted aggressively to any attempts by Benin players to approach Messi, making the Benin team feel unwelcome.

Benin players tried to honor Messi

During the honor guard for Messi, some Benin players tried to line up to applaud him as he passed, but security quickly dispersed them. Adelakun compared the situation to the players being treated like gangsters in the middle of a riot.

Messi avoided Benin players

Adelakun also said that some Benin players positioned themselves at the end of Messi's route, expecting him to acknowledge them. However, Messi took a detour to avoid them, heading directly to the center of the field. From the Benin perspective, this was seen as a disappointing lack of respect from a player widely admired by many, including young Africans.

Criticism of Argentina's behavior

Adelakun concluded that mutual respect is essential in football and that the incident showed a lack of respect from the Argentine team toward the Benin squad. The French and Spanish teams, who had their own bitter experiences after the 2022 and 2026 World Cup finals, are not the only ones to have criticized Argentina's behavior.