Lionel Messi’s fiery message to Portuguese World Cup referee during QF win over Switzerland revealed

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Argentina’s 3-1 AET win over Switzerland in the 2026 FIFA World Cup quarter-final saw an uncharacteristically angry moment from Lionel Messi.

The 39-year-old is known to let his football do the talking on the field, but there was a tense moment between the legend and Portuguese referee Joao Pinheiro during the clash.

It seems Messi had to remind the referee about who he is and how he should be treated.

Lionel Messi reminds the referee to show him some respect

It’s unclear what exactly transpired and was said between Messi and Pinheiro, but the visibly animated interaction was caught on cameras around the world, with Spanish website ‘Ole’ providing a translation of what Messi reportedly said to the ref.

“Speak properly, don’t disrespect me. Speak to me properly, I spoke to you properly.”

Messi isn’t known to lose composure on the field, so he definitely felt instigated enough to raise an issue with Pinheiro.

The incident stems from Pinheiro telling Messi to adjust his position as part of the wall defending a Swiss free kick.

Messi clearly felt the tone or language used by the referee to communicate was unwarranted, confronting him immediately.

Lionel Messi once again let his football do the talking

Instead of holding a grudge against the referee for the entire game, Messi instantly resumed his role as the fulcrum of Argentina’s offense.

Messi received a 7.79 from Opta for his performance against Switzerland, ending his 120-minute stint with one assist and no goals. It’s the first game this tournament where Messi hasn’t scored a goal.

Nonetheless, Messi was an instrumental creative force, ending the game with 86% pass accuracy on 65 total attempts. He couldn’t find the net but recovered loose balls through tackles in the attacking half of the pitch while outfoxing the Swiss defenders.

This wasn’t his best game this World Cup, but Messi was still the driving factor behind Argentina picking up this scrappy win to book a date against England in the semis.