Benin head coach, Gernot Rohr has strongly condemned the attitude of Argentina and its players, including Lionel Messi, towards his team during the farewell match organised for the Argentine captain.
Fans watched Messi end his international career in impressive fashion on Tuesday, as the 39-year-old scored one goal and provided two assists to help Argentina secure a commanding 3-0 victory in Buenos Aires.
After the game, cameras captured Messi snubbing Benin players who were eager to take selfies, exchange pleasantries and swap shirts with him.
Television coverage documented several Benin players encountering difficulties while attempting to take photographs with the 39-year-old.
Rohr found the incidents deeply unsatisfactory and expressed his displeasure, along with that of his players, during an appearance on the RMC radio programme Rothen s’enflamme.
He said, “Indeed, the situation proved exceptionally challenging. We made our attempts.
“The main disappointment was that the Argentine team gave us nothing. No photograph with Messi, no jersey.
“They did not even allow us access to the tunnel, as security personnel denied entry to everyone. Some players approached them to exchange shirts, but it was clear that we would face difficulties. We exhausted all possibilities, yet received nothing in return.”
Despite their unsuccessful attempts to exchange shirts with their Argentine counterparts, Rohr managed to obtain a keepsake for himself.
The 73-year-old had brought a Messi shirt from the 2018 World Cup and presented it to Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni, who arranged for Messi to autograph it before returning it to him.
The former Super Eagles coach added, “We presented a bouquet of flowers in Benin’s national colours—yellow, red and green—but the gesture proved ineffective.
“Nevertheless, I gave Scaloni Messi’s 2018 shirt, and he secured Messi’s signature on it for me before returning it. However, that was the extent of our success.”
Farewell game: ‘What Messi, Argentina did to us’ – Benin coach, Gernot Rohr laments