Reuters Journalists
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BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – The president of the Argentine Football Association said Lionel Messi could play with the national team at the opening of next month’s World Cup qualifiers, after his suspension during the Copa America last year.
Messi was suspended for one game after being sent off in the third-place match against Chile and accused by Confederation of South America (CONMEBOL) officials of corruption.
Messi was supposed to miss the Ecuador game in Buenos Aires on October 8.
The Argentine Football Association said in a statement on Twitter that Claudio Tapia, president of the Argentine Federation, consulted with Alejandro Dominguez, president of the Confederation of Confederation, who confirmed “the suspension has ended and that (Messi) can play.”
The Argentine striker was fired after a quarrel with Gary Medel and said the tournament had been tampered with for hosts Brazil, which beat Argentina in a controversial semi-final match before claiming the title.
Argentina, which has not won a World Cup since 1986, will start their qualifying campaign with two consecutive matches as they host Ecuador before heading out to meet Bolivia.
Prepared by Shady Amir for the Arabic Bulletin
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