EAMON DUNPHY BELIEVES Lionel Messi “let himself down” with his penalty in last night’s win over Celta Vigo.
The reigning Spanish and European champions were in scintillating form in the final 20 minutes as they claimed a 6-1 victory at the Camp Nou to remain top of La Liga.
One of the main talking points of the game arrived in the 82nd minute when Messi chose to lay a spot-kick off for Luis Suarez to score his hat-trick.
While many fans have been raving about the display, some believe the decision to pass the penalty showed disrespect to the opposition.
And speaking on RTÉ 2fm’s Game On tonight, Dunphy was highly-critical of the Argentine star — despite the fact that it has been tried by the likes of Johan Cruyff and Robert Pires in the past.
“No class, it totally lacked class,” Dunphy told Hugh Cahill. “You have to respect your opponents and you have to respect the game and the history of the game.
“None of the great players of the past would’ve ever dreamt of doing anything like that. Everyone who loves football loves Messi and he let himself down big time. He let the game down, he should apologise and he should be reprimanded by his coach.
“You don’t mess with the game. It’s sacrosanct.”
Dunphy added: “The spirit of the game – you respect your fellow professionals and your opponents. No matter how good you are you’re not bigger than the game.
“In a purely footballing sense, he has missed penalties and he has missed a lot of them for a player of his quality. You don’t mess with that. He won’t be doing that in the Champions League final if he gets there.
He owes it to the opponents, to the fans and to the people who love him and who have made him rich and famous.
“That kind of bolloxology to use a colloquialism, there is no place for it in the arsenal of a great player and Lionel Messi is probably the greatest player we’ve ever seen.”
What are your thoughts on the penalty?
Listen to the full interview on RTÉ 2fm’s Game On
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