Report: Messi's goodbye started a war, and Argentina could leave River's Monumental

By the Data Desk · Published 11 OCT 07:45 · Updated 19 OCT 08:30

First reported by La Nación (Ariel Senosiain) · 9 OCT 13:57

Four days after Lionel Messi said goodbye to Argentina in front of a full Monumental, the stadium sang against the man who runs Argentine football. La Nación reports that the AFA has already decided the national team will not play at River Plate's ground again, a decision neither the federation nor the club has confirmed.

• La Nación's Ariel Senosiain wrote on 9 October: “En la AFA existe una decisión tomada: la selección argentina no jugará más en el estadio Monumental.” Clarín repeated it on Saturday night.
• The row started with the farewell show on 6 October: the AFA's producer, Marketing Sports, blamed River for the failures; River's answer, through club sources, blamed the producer.
• The Monumental holds 85,018, the largest stadium in South America. The alternative named, La Plata's Estadio Único, holds about 53,000 and is still being renovated.

The farewell itself went to plan on the pitch: Argentina beat Benin 3-0 on Tuesday 6 October and Messi had a hand in all three goals. The show around it did not. The sound failed, the drone display was mocked, and a power cut ended the closing act by Grupo Cali. Two days later Marketing Sports, the company the AFA hired, posted a statement saying River removed the giant screen three days after the AFA announced the event, refused an alternative LED screen on the pitch and ran the stadium's sound and lighting (La Nación).

Behind the scenes, River answered off the record, and in detail. According to club sources quoted by La Nación and Infobae, the screen's removal was announced on 8 July, River had played seven home games without it, sound and lighting were the producer's job, and River had expressly suggested a generator that the producer chose not to pay for. La Nación adds that Tapia had asked River, through vice-president Ignacio Villarroel, to give up the stadium rent for the night.

Then came Saturday. Before River beat Estudiantes de Río Cuarto 1-0, all four stands sang “Chiqui Tapia botón”, and this time River's barra joined in (Clarín). Earlier that afternoon, at Barracas Central, the club Tapia used to run, the home fans had chanted against River's president Stefano Di Carlo during a 2-0 win over Huracán (La Nación). Tapia has not answered publicly.

What is known and what is not: La Nación says no date is attached to the decision because Argentina have no home games planned in the short or medium term; the November window is expected to be friendlies abroad. La Plata's renovated Estadio Único is the alternative La Nación names. The AFA and River have made no official statement.