Benin boss Gernot Rohr criticises Argentina treatment after Lionel Messi farewell

Gernot Rohr said Benin were denied the chance to exchange shirts or share a moment with Argentina players after their 3-0 defeat in Lionel Messi’s final appearance for the national team.

Argentina celebrated the occasion in front of a large home crowd, with Messi at the centre of the farewell. Benin’s players had hoped to meet their opponents after the friendly and obtain a shirt or photograph with the Argentina captain, but Rohr said their efforts were unsuccessful.

“It was extremely difficult,” Benin manager Rohr told the RMC radio programme Rothen s’enflamme. “We tried. The only downside was that the Argentinians did not give us anything. No picture with Messi, no shirt.

“They did not even allow us to enter the tunnel, let alone the dressing room.”

Rohr said security prevented the Benin squad from moving closer to the Argentina players, despite some attempts to arrange shirt exchanges.

“Security refused to let everyone in,” he added. “Some players came to exchange shirts, so we knew it would be difficult. We tried everything, but we got nothing.”

The German coach said Benin had also prepared a gesture for their hosts, presenting a bouquet in the country’s colours. That, too, did not lead to an opportunity for the teams to meet.

“We presented a bouquet of flowers in Benin’s colours – yellow, red and green – but that did not work,” Rohr said.

The coach did, however, manage to secure a signed shirt linked to Messi. He explained that he gave Lionel Messi’s 2018 shirt to Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni, who signed it before returning it to him.

“However, I gave a 2018 Messi shirt to Scaloni, who signed it for me and then gave it back,” Rohr said. “But that was all.”