Farewell game: ‘What Messi, Argentina did to us’ – Benin coach, Gernot Rohr laments

Benin's head coach, Gernot Rohr, has vehemently criticized Argentina and its players, particularly Lionel Messi, for their conduct during the farewell match held to honor the Argentine captain. This match took place in Buenos Aires on Tuesday, where Messi concluded his international career with a commendable performance, scoring a goal and providing two assists as Argentina emerged victorious with a 3-0 scoreline.

Following the game, it was evident that Messi deliberately avoided connecting with the Benin players, who were eager to take selfies, exchange pleasantries, and swap shirts with him. Numerous instances were captured on camera where Benin players struggled to interact with Messi, leading to frustration among Rohr and his team. This uncooperative behavior left Rohr and his players highly dissatisfied, as they expressed their disappointment during an appearance on the RMC radio program Rothen s’enflamme.

Rohr emphasized, "The situation turned out exceptionally challenging for us. We made earnest attempts." His main grievance was the lack of any form of acknowledgement or interaction from Messi and his teammates. They were denied access to the tunnel and even when players tried to exchange shirts, security personnel prevented their entry. Whilst some players approached Messi to exchange jerseys, the atmosphere was clearly hostile, and they were met with resistance.

Despite their best efforts, Rohr only managed to secure a keepsake for himself. He had brought a Messi shirt from the 2018 World Cup and presented it to Argentina's manager, Lionel Scaloni, who in turn encouraged Messi to sign it before handing it back to Rohr. This gesture, however, was not enough to mend the strained relationship between the two teams.

Rohr further revealed that they had attempted to honor Messi by presenting a bouquet of flowers in Benin's national colors - yellow, red, and green, but their efforts were in vain. Despite this setback, Rohr did manage to obtain something tangible as a token of appreciation from Messi's 2018 shirt, which Scaloni facilitated Messi to sign for him before returning it.