With club football on pause, preparations for international matches are now underway. During this break, South American teams will also be playing World Cup qualifiers, with Argentina set to visit Paraguay on November 15 at 5:30 am. All eyes will be on Lionel Messi in this Argentina-Paraguay clash, and plenty of fans are expected to come to the stadium to see him in action. After all, who would want to miss the chance to watch Messi play up close?
However, the Paraguayan Football Federation has set a special rule for local Messi fans attending the match. Paraguayan spectators won’t be allowed to enter wearing Argentina jerseys or any jersey displaying ‘Messi 10.’ Fernando Villasboa, Paraguay’s Football Federation Licensing Manager, confirmed this, saying, ‘We have already issued a warning at the local level. Only those wearing Paraguay or neutral jerseys will be allowed into the home section of the stands. Those in opposition jerseys won’t be permitted.’
Many are questioning if Paraguay’s ban on opposing team jerseys in the home stands is aimed at curbing Messi mania in the stadium. The football-focused news site ‘Goal.com’ has even labeled this rule an ‘Anti-Lionel Messi’ measure. Villasboa’s next statement seems to support this connection to Messi, as he added, ‘We also won’t allow club jerseys displaying the names of players from the opposing team.’
Despite these suspicions, Villasboa has denied that the measure targets any specific player, explaining, ‘This is not against any individual player. We respect players’ careers. It’s just a necessary step to maintain the home advantage in our stadium.’
This isn’t the first time Messi’s team’s jersey has been banned from certain stadium sections. Back in March, Nashville imposed a similar restriction in specific parts of the stands during a CONCACAF Champions Cup match against Inter Miami.
