Football officials are meant to be impartial, but an assistant referee from Paraguay could not resist showing off what a big Lionel Messi fan he was on Tuesday night.
Nicolas Yegros was working the line for Argentina's World Cup qualifier against Chile and, at half-time, he approached the Barcelona star and asked him to pose for a photograph with him. A rather bemused Messi granted Yegros his request as the Paraguayan smiled giddily beside his football idol. But why would Yegros risk the wrath of FIFA with such a brazenly unprofessional act? Well, according to the South American media, it was his last official match in charge and, therefore, he did not care about any fines or punishment from FIFA. He also got to watch Messi score as he helped Argentina to a 2-1 away win which gave the visitors a three-point lead in the standings of South American World Cup qualifying campaign. Messi and Gonzalo Higuain struck within minutes of each other half an hour into the match, with Chile pulling one back through substitute Felipe Gutierrez in added time at the end of the game. The Paraguayan assistant referee did not understand why all the fuss regarding this picture. “I wanted a photo with Messi for my son because he is his fan and I had this opportunity. I hope that the Chilean fans will not be angry with me for what I did. The referees are part of the environment of football and I do not see why it has to be a problem”, said Yegros.
Source: Yahoo Sports
