No photo, no shirt, Benin coach laments treatment after Messi farewell

Benin's head coach Gernot Rohr (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP)

Benin head coach Gernot Rohr has criticised the treatment his players received from Argentina after their international friendly against the world champions, saying they were denied the opportunity to take photographs with Lionel Messi and exchange shirts with the Argentine players.

Argentina defeated Benin 3-0 at the Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires on Tuesday, in what was Messi’s final appearance for the national team.

Messi marked his farewell with a goal and two assists, setting up Nicolás Otamendi and Nico Paz before converting a penalty to complete the victory.

The 39-year-old later described the occasion as the “saddest day” of his career as he brought an end to a 21-year international career with Argentina.

However, while the night was designed as a celebration of Messi’s international career, Rohr said his players struggled to get close to the Argentina squad after the match.

Speaking on RMC radio’s Rothen s’enflamme on Wednesday, the former Nigeria coach said the Benin team tried to meet Messi and the Argentine players but were stopped by security personnel.

“Yes, it was extremely difficult. We tried.

“The only shame is that the Argentines gave us nothing. No photo with Messi, no shirt. They didn’t even let us into the tunnel, nor even the dressing room,” he said.

Rohr said some Argentine players attempted to exchange shirts with the Benin players but security prevented the interaction from taking place.

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

The Benin delegation also attempted to present Messi with a bouquet of flowers in the colours of the country, but Rohr said that effort did not produce the desired meeting.

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“We offered a bouquet of flowers in Benin’s colours, yellow, red and green, but that didn’t work,” the German said.

Rohr, however, managed to get a 2018 Messi shirt signed by the Argentine captain through Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni.

“However, I gave Messi’s 2018 shirt to coach Scaloni, who got him to sign it for me and then returned it to me, but that was all,” he said.

Messi’s farewell had been an emotional one, with the Argentina captain addressing supporters at the Monumental after the victory.

“It was a huge source of pride for me to defend this jersey for more than 20 years.

“Not coming anymore is going to be deeply painful. I swear I’d like to play for the rest of my life, because playing for the Argentina national team is the most beautiful thing that can happen to you,” Messi said.

He later paid tribute to his late father, Jorge Messi, and Argentina legend Diego Maradona in an Instagram post following the match.

“You don’t know how much we missed you last night…” Messi wrote in a tribute to his father, who died in August aged 68.

He also said of Maradona: “I don’t want to forget Diego, who put our country where it deserved to be.”

Messi ended his Argentina career as the country’s most-capped player and leading goalscorer, with 208 appearances and 126 goals.