Ricardo, who is also a former FIFA executive committee and standing committee member, resigned in 2012, was also fined one million Swiss francs (907,000 euros) after he was found guilty of bribery in violation of the Fifa code of ethics.

FIFA said “The investigation into Mr. Teixeira referred to bribery schemes, conducted during the 2006-2012 period, in relation to his role in awarding contracts to companies for the media and marketing rights to CBF, Conmebol and Concacaf competitions. In its decision, the adjudicatory chamber found that Mr. Teixeira had breached article 27 (Bribery) of the Fifa Code of Ethics (2018 edition) and, as a result, sanctioned him with a ban for life on taking part in any football-related activity (administrative, sports or any other) at both national and international level.”

Messi had a forgettable ending to the tournament as he was showed a straight red card in the third place playoff against Chile following a clash with Gary Medel.

Following the match, Messi did not come out to collect his bronze medal. Messi predicted that Brazil would win the tournament because everything was set up for them .

The Barcelona forward said “There is no doubt, the whole thing is set up for Brazil . I hope the VAR and referees don’t play any part in the final and that Peru can compete but it looks tough to me. I did not want to be part of this corruption, we shouldn’t have to be part of this disrepect we suffered during the Copa America .We could have gone further but we weren’t allowed into the final. Corruption , referees and all the rest stopped people from enjoying the football. I always tell the truth and I’m honest , that is what keeps me calm, if what I say has repercussions that is not my business . I think that what happened is because of what I said against Brazil. What I said last time perhaps came back to haunt me. With a yellow card that was the end of it .”

In a six-page letter to the South American confederation, Argentina complained that VAR was not used to check two decisions that could have lead to penalties for fouls on Sergio Aguero and Nicolas Otamendi.

Aguero appeared to be fouled by Dani Alves during the game, and Argentina were unhappy after no penalty was awarded when Otamendi went down in the box following a challenge from Arthur.

Brazil won the game 2-0 thanks to goals from Gabriel Jesus and Roberto Firmino, and following the game Argentina forward Lionel Messi blamed the defeat on the performance of Zambranol.