Monterrey coach calls Messi a 'possessed dwarf' before offering apology

Lionel Messi was referred to as a 'possessed dwarf' with 'the face of the devil' by a Monterrey assistant coach in leaked audio following a tunnel confrontation at last week's CONCACAF Champions Cup matchup in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Monterrey assistant coach Nico Sánchez has since issued an apology for his comments, although he neglected to mention Messi's name, instead directing his regret at Inter Miami coach Tata Martino, whom he referred to as a 'poor dummy' in the leaked audio.

The confrontation took place before Monterrey's 2-1 win over Inter Miami in the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinal matchup.

Although Messi was ruled out prior to the game due to a hamstring injury, he, Jordi Alba, Luis Suárez and Martino were reportedly in a mixed zone confrontation with Monterrey players and coach outside the visitors' locker room.

As reported by USA Today, the argument stemmed from Inter Miami players approaching officials in the tunnel after a game in which their side received six yellow cards and a red card compared to just three bookings for Monterrey.

Since the confrontation in the tunnel, audio of Sánchez discussing the altercation in the locker room has been leaked to Fox Sports MX.

'The dwarf was possessed, he had the face of the devil,' Sánchez said. 'He put his fist next to my face and says: 'Who do you think you are?' But because I didn't look at him, I was looking away, I never answered back, it made things worse.

'And Tata Martino, what a poor dummy, I had him in front of me telling me: 'Fool, you going to cry? Fool you going to cry?' What a dummy! All those videos, they probably erased them all because it leaves them looking bad.

'What they did was really serious. They want to dirty the