Lionel Messi was shown an extremely rare red card on Saturday evening as Argentina faced Chile in the third-place play-off at the 2019 Copa America tournament.
The Albiceleste were leading 2-0 at the Arena Corinthians in Sao Paulo, Brazil courtesy of goals from Sergio Aguero and Paulo Dybala when their captain and talisman got into a heated exchange with Gary Medel.
The former Cardiff midfielder took exception to an attempted tackle from behind from Messi as he looked to shield the ball over the byline in the 34th minute of the first half.
Medel reacted angrily, appearing to move his head towards the Barcelona star, who was also pushed but did not seem to retaliate.
Both players were then shown straight red cards by referee Mario Diaz de Vivar.
Remarkably, it is only the second time Messi has been sent off in his illustrious playing career.
The 32-year-old was also dismissed after just 43 seconds of his senior Argentina debut in a friendly against Hungary in Budapest back in 2005.
Messi has never been issued a red card in 687 competitive appearances at club level for Barcelona.
Chile reduced the deficit through Arturo Vidal's second-half penalty, but lost Manchester United's Alexis Sanchez to a hamstring injury as Argentina held on to claim third spot.
