Lionel Messi to be BANNED? Desperate Liverpool fans start petition after Fabinho 'punch'

Posted Saturday, May 04, 2019 by Express.co.uk

Lionel Messi to be BANNED? Desperate Liverpool fans start petition after Fabinho 'punch' (Image: BT SPORT/CHANGE/GETTY)

DESPERATE Liverpool fans are signing a petition calling for Lionel Messi to be banned for the Champions League second leg after it was claimed the Barcelona star “punched” Fabinho.

Messi shone as Barcelona beat the Reds 3-0 in their Champions League semi-final first leg on Wednesday to put one foot in the final.

The Argentine netted twice, one a tap in before following it up with a wondrous free-kick from 30 yards.

But the awarding of the free-kick has been questioned by some Liverpool fans, with a number of Reds supporters claiming Messi punched Fabinho when the two collided.

The decision was given Barcelona’s way and now Reds fans want UEFA to take further action ahead of the second showdown.

A petition has now been started, and signed by more than 3,000, calling for Messi to be banned.

The petition, started by a user named Messi AFraud, states: “So basically Messi gets a freekick for punching Fabinho in the head and scores it, I feel like this needs to be looked at by UEFA.”

Messi has warned his team-mates the tie is still not over and says the Anfield crowd could play a part in deciding who goes through.

“It could have been a better result, [but] it’s very good,” Lionel Messi said. "We go to a difficult ground, with a great history where the fans really push.

“We got drawn into their play a bit and we’re not so used to it: very physical, high pace, rhythm, one counter and then another.

“At times we were a bit asphyxiated. We suffered quite a lot.

“We were better in the first half, in the second they pressed, looking for a goal and we were able to hold on.

“The free kick was good; I was going for that and it was lucky that it went in.”

While Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp insists the tie is still there to be won.

"I can work really well with this game,” he said.

“I will use this game to show the boys what is possible.

Lionel Messi to be BANNED? Desperate Liverpool fans start petition after Fabinho 'punch' (Image: CHANGE)

“It was a brave performance that was very passionate, very lively and, in a lot of moments, creative and direct."

The free-kick was Messi’s 600th club goal during his career, having always been at Barcelona.

And Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu believes Messi will never leave the Nou Camp.

“We are talking to the family [about retirement] but it’s very early to say,” Bartomeu told The Guardian.

“He’s a footballer. So we talk football. But he will stay here with us. He’s a club man.

“I talk always about Pelé, who was always associated with Santos, the only place he played.

“Leo belongs to world football, but he has always lived at Barça. He will be a one-club man.

“Leo will never leave. He’ll stop playing, but he’ll always be with us.

“He might even play until he’s 45, who knows?” the president theorised.

“We know he’ll play three, four, five years more, we don’t know how many – as many as he wants.

“We’re preparing: players like [Ousmane] Dembélé, [Clément] Lenglet, Arthur are there to build a team for when Messi stops playing, but I still see it as a long way off.”