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Argentina’s victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the group stage of 2014 FIFA World Cup was marred by controversy when Argentine skipper Lionel Messi was accused of not greeting a young mascot minutes before the commencement of the game.
A video had surfaced where Messi was seen not shaking his hands with the young kid as he had not seen him, and move forward to greet the referees.
The kid looked crestfallen and went back only to miss the chance to shake the talismanic forward’s hand as another kid behind him got the honour of shaking Messi’s hand.
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On being asked about the snub, Messi defended himself by saying that it was not deliberate and he hadn’t seen the kid.
“How could it be that I did not want to greet the boy? I just did not realise he was there. In fact, I spoke to two other children in the line,” said Messi.
“I would never do such a thing when I have a nephew and young son, I would never do such a thing with a boy,” added the Barcelona striker.
Above is the video where during a press conference, Lionel Messi defended himself by saying that he didn’t see the kid.
Below is the video of the controversial incident:
