Video shows Lionel Messi talking about tactics, not Indonesia being knocked out of U-23 Asian Cup

Published on May 16, 2024 at 08:27
3 min read
By AFP Indonesia

An old video of Argentine football legend Lionel Messi talking about tactical developments in the sport has been falsely shared in Indonesian social media posts that mistranslated his remarks to make it appear as if he were talking about the country's loss to Uzbekistan in the Under-23 Asian Cup tournament. The clip purports to show Messi echoing the feelings of Indonesian supporters aggrieved by the perceived injustice of their defeat. But the clip has circulated since November 2023 -- nearly six months before the match took place.

"World football is in uproar. What did megastar Lionel Messi say?" read Indonesian-language sticker text on a TikTok video shared on May 1, 2024.

The beginning of the video appears to show clips of the Argentine football legend during an interview.

His Spanish-language remarks are subtitled in Indonesian, which claim he was speaking about Indonesia's 2-0 semi-final loss to Uzbekistan at the Under-23 Asian Cup -- an Olympic-qualifying tournament -- and blaming the match officials for the defeat.

"Indonesia could no longer focus after the referee cheated them," read the subtitles.

A narrator speaks over the remainder of the video, saying: "Indonesia would not have lost if they were not cheated by the referee, said Lionel Messi, the Argentina megastar, after the match between Indonesia and Uzbekistan.

"He observed and assessed the match and found there were many anomalies in the referee's unclear decisions. The referee seemed to be biased."

Screenshot of false TikTok post, captured on May 13, 2024

The same video was watched more than two million times after it was shared elsewhere on TikTok, as well as on Facebook and SnackVideo.

Comments on the posts indicate users believed Messi had spoken about the Indonesia match.

"Lots of support from a top player because they understand..." read one comment.

Another said: "Again and again Indonesia U-23 team got cheated by the referee who is being unfair during the game."

Fan frustration with the referee was reflected in a report by local sports site Bola.com, which said there were at least two incidents -- a disallowed goal and a sending off -- that "greatly influenced" the result (archived link).

CNN Indonesia also highlighted refereeing decisions in a report with the headline, "Harmed by the referee, the Indonesian U-23 National Team lost 0-2 to Uzbekistan" (archived link).

But the video circulating online does not show Messi talking about the match.

Chat with Zidane

A reverse image on Google using keyframes from the TikTok video led to the same footage in a YouTube video uploaded on the official Adidas Football channel on November 9, 2023 -- six months before the Indonesia-Uzbekistan match (archived link).

The nearly half-hour video shows a wide-ranging, Spanish-language conversation between Messi and Zinedine Zidane, former Real Madrid player and manager and a World Cup winner with France.

The conversation is subtitled in English.

Below is a screenshot comparison of the clip used in the false post (left) and the video posted on YouTube (right):

Screenshot comparison of the clip used in the false post (left) and the video posted on YouTube (right)

The clip falsely shared on TikTok corresponds to footage taken from the 5:21 mark of the YouTube video.

Messi and Zidane were discussing tactical developments in football and the loss of the "number 10" role, which they both played.

According to the English-language subtitles, Messi says: "Yes, there aren't any more left. It doesn't have the position it used to have, that showed it was the leader, the midfielder, the link player, as we used to call it."

"Today, there are lots of teams that play 4-3-3 and there are more inside players than 10."

There is no mention of Indonesia during the conversation.

AFP previously has debunked misinformation linked to Indonesia's defeat here.

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