Barcelona forward Lionel Messi will be available for Argentina's crucial World Cup qualifiers against Uruguay, Venezuela and Peru after FIFA's Appeal Committee lifted his four-game suspension from international matches.
The 29-year-old was handed the ban retrospectively by world football's governing body in March -- along with a fine of 10,000 Swiss francs ($10,160) -- after television footage showed him verbally abusing a match official during a qualifier against Chile.
Messi and Argentina appealed the ban, though, and on Thursday his lawyer Juan de Dios Crespo and representatives from the Argentine Football Association (AFA) appeared at a hearing in Zurich.
"The FIFA Appeal Committee has upheld the appeal lodged by the Argentine Football Association, on behalf of the player Lionel Messi, against the decision taken by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee, lifting the sanctions imposed on him as a result," a statement confirmed on Friday.
Post a Comment
Your View?