FIFA bans Messi for four matches

Barcelona star Lionel Messi was suspended for four Argentina matches by FIFA on Tuesday for swearing at an assistant referee, a decision the Argentinian federation said had left him feeling "sad".

The decision was communicated to the Argentine Football Association (AFA) just hours before their match in La Paz on Tuesday evening.

It followed an incident towards the end of the Albiceleste's 1-0 victory over Chile last week, when the Barcelona star scored the only goal from the penalty spot.

The 29-year-old was penalised for a foul and proceeded to wave his arms and shout insults at the referee's assistant Marcelo van Gasse, with whom he refused to shake hands at the final whistle.

It was not initially recorded in referee Sandro Ricci's report but was followed up by FIFA after video footage of Messi's insult emerged. Both the officials and the AFA were subsequently asked for their observations.

Messi will miss Argentina's next game against Bolivia,  with the remainder of the suspension served over his country's subsequent World Cup qualifiers.

He was also fined 10,000 Swiss francs (9,350 euros, $10,170), with FIFA saying: "This decision is in line with the FIFA Disciplinary Committee's previous rulings in similar cases."

Argentina team secretary Jorge Miadosqui, speaking from the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz, immediately confirmed that the federation would appeal the ban.

"The federation will appeal as it should," he said, noting that Messi had not been warned or sanctioned by the referee of the Chile match at the time of the outburst, and nothing had been mentioned in the referee's match report.

"We feel powerless, surprised," added Miadosqui, noting that the ban came just hours ahead of the match with Bolivia.

“I'm angry, Messi is sad, like us. He could have played, he travelled to play, he should have played."

Argentina's victory over Chile left them in third place overall in the 10-team South American qualifying competition for the World Cup with 22 points from 13 games.