The ‘anti-football’ red card that explains why Lionel Messi has never faced England

Lionel Messi has received just three red cards in his illustrious 21-year professional career – but one of them meant he missed out on an international appearance against England . Argentina captain Messi, now with 205 caps and 125 goals to his name, will face the Three Lions for the first time in his career on Wednesday night in a blockbuster World Cup semi-final in Atlanta. For all their history at World Cups, England and Argentina haven’t actually faced each other – competitively or otherwise – since a friendly in November 2005. Michael Owen scored a late double for a 3-2 England win over Argentina in November 2005 (Getty) It was a terrific encounter, with England striker Michael Owen the match-winner with two late goals to seal a 3-2 England win amid dramatic scenes on neutral territory in Geneva. But what is most extraordinary, in the context of Wednesday’s showdown, is that Messi would otherwise have featured in that match. However, he was suspended. Why was Messi suspended? The Barcelona winger, then 18, made his debut for Argentina in August 2005, a few months after starring for his country’s victorious under-20 side in the Fifa World Youth Championship. Messi was introduced as a 63rd-minute substitute against Hungary in Budapest; an ironic opponent, given Messi’s career comparisons to Diego Maradona, whose own Argentina debut also came against Hungary. Yet just 47 seconds after entering the fray, Messi sped away from Hungary’s Vilmos Vanczak, who then grabbed the teenager’s shirt. However, a stray elbow saw Messi receive the first red card of his career from German referee Markus Merk. Replays show that there was perhaps the faintest of touches, if there was a touch at all. South American football expert Tim Vickery wrote of the incident for the BBC : “His red card was a crime against football. Messi burst past a defender, who grabbed on to his shirt to hold him back. “Messi used his arm to try to wriggle free. There was no elbow, no violence - just an attempt to get on with the game. But the defender fell as if pole-axed, and out came the red card. “This was a hard-fought friendly. There were some rugged tackles, and some blatant dives. Messi did none of this. He made no attempt to cheat. “He was the victim of anti-football, and yet he was the one sent off. It is hard to think of a refereeing decision more contrary to the spirit of the game.” Another coincidence, so to speak, is that Lionel Scaloni – Messi’s current head coach with Argentina – was one of the players protesting against the decision in the face of the referee that day in Budapest. Of the incident, Messi said at the time: "He came through me and had hold of me and I wanted to break free, but the referee interpreted it as though I had tried to shove him away. "I went on with a lot of time left in the game, but then what happened, happened. Lionel Messi at the 2006 World Cup (Getty) “It was not like I had dreamed it would be." Argentina coach Jose Pekerman simply stated: "I congratulated Messi because he went out to play his football.” When did Messi play next for Argentina? Messi then played in three World Cup qualifiers over September and October, with his one-match suspension for the red card not carrying over to South American qualifying. He notched his first assist for his country in a 2-0 win against Peru. But the one-match ban was fulfilled for Argentina’s next non-competitive international against England on 10 November in Switzerland. He was available to face Qatar in a friendly six days later. Messi would go on to score his first goal for Argentina in March 2006 against Croatia, before becoming his country’s youngest-ever goalscorer – a record that still stands to this day – at the 2006 World Cup.