Argentina captain Lionel Messi got into a heated argument with referee Joao Pinheiro during his team’s FIFA World Cup 2026 quarter-final against Switzerland in Kansas City on Saturday. The incident happened during the first half of the game when Switzerland were about to take a free-kick.
Lionel Messi, who was standing in Argentina’s defensive wall, was unhappy when Pinheiro urged him to step back the distance that was needed. However, the Inter Miami star replied furiously to the referee, reportedly stating: “Speak to me properly. Don’t disrespect me. Speak to me properly. I spoke to you properly.”
Messi’s confrontation with the referee, though, hardly had any impact on the game as Argentina went onto win the match 3-1 after extra time. The scores were level 1-1 at full time, but Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez went onto score goals in extra time to take the defending champions to the semi-finals.
All you need to know about Joao Pinheiro
Joao Pinheiro was born on 4 January, 1988 in Vila Nova de Famalicao, Portugal. The 38-year-old is considered to be one of Europe’s top referees, having made his debut in Portugal’s top division in 2015. He received his FIFA badge a year later.
Over the years, he has officiated in the UEFA Europa League, UEFA Champions League as well as the 2025 UEFA Super Cup. His performances in each of these competitions helped him earn a place as one of the referees for FIFA World Cup 2026.
Lionel Messi, on the other hand, remains in contention for the Golden Boot award. Messi shares top spot in the latest standings with eight goals, the same as France’s Kylian Mbappe.
Overall, nobody has more FIFA World Cup goals than Messi currently, with 21 goals to his name. Messi broke the record of Germany icon Miroslav Klose, during the group stage of the ongoing World Cup.
Kylian Mbappe is the next closest to Lionel Messi in terms of this, having scored 20 goals across three FIFA World Cup editions so far.
Messi, though, hasn’t faced England in international football so far, and Wednesday’s semi-final in Atlanta will be the veteran’s first-ever faceoff against the Three Lions.
Messi made his debut with Argentina in August 2005, and while he was a substitute for a friendly against England in November 2005, he didn’t get to make an appearance.
That was also the last time England and Argentina locked horns in international football.