Crude Lionel Messi insult sparks ugly scenes as Rodrigo De Paul and Manuel Ugarte pulled apart
Rodrigo De Paul and Manuel Ugarte almost came to blows following the latter's crude gesture towards Lionel Messi.
Marcelo Bielsa's Uruguay beat Argentina 2-0 in their World Cup qualifier on Thursday night, with Ronald Araujo and Liverpool's Darwin Nunez scoring.
But while the reigning world champions were left stunned by their first defeat since the World Cup in Qatar, post-match attention has turned to two players in particular — De Paul and Ugarte.
Tempers began to flare after Lionel Messi was picked up off the floor.
Footage then shows Paris Saint-Germain star Ugarte yelling and aiming a distasteful gesture at De Paul, making reference to Messi.
Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez instantly stepped in to push Ugarte away, while De Paul was seen shouting at him in response to his insult.
Although he wasn't involved in the brawl, it's fair to say Messi wasn't exactly happy with Ugarte either.
Speaking after the game, the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner told TyC Sports the Uruguayan star needs to 'learn respect'.
The Barcelona legend said: “It's normal. These kinds of games, qualifiers, against Uruguay, it's always like that.
«I prefer not to say what I think. Young people have to learn to respect from their elders.
PSG's Manuel Ugarte is alleged to have called Rodrigo De Paul a 'Messi **** sucker' during Uruguay's win over Argentina.pic.twitter.com/obAZRJyrKK
»This classic was always intense, hard, but always with a lot of respect. They have to learn a little.”
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