It seems as if barely a week can go by without a football manager, player, pundit or fans calling for one player or another to be banned for any manner of offences, ranging from simulation to snide elbows to social media activity.
But former Manchester United assistant manager and current Iran manager Carlos Queiroz wants Lionel Messi banned from football for being too good at it.
Quieroz knows only too well the other worldly talents of the five time Ballon d'Or winner, given that it was Messi who broke Iranian hearts with a stunning 90th minute winner during the group stages of the 2014 World Cup, four years ago.
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Now, with this summer's World Cup only three-and-a-half months away from kicking off, Queiroz has been calling for the pint sized genius to be banned by FIFA until he can prove that he is actually human.
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Speaking to FIFA.com, Queiroz said, "I've always said that Messi is an extraordinary player. He's out of this world. If he were human, he wouldn't have had that magical moment in that match.
"I don't usually like losing, but I didn't come away from that defeat with a negative feeling. It's when something magical like that happens that you know that football is alive and kicking, and that's why it's one of the best sports in the world to watch.
"And it's even more of a special moment when it comes from a player who shouldn't be allowed to play by FIFA until it's proven that he's actually human!"
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This time round, Queiroz's charges will come up against relatively tame opposition in, erm, Spain, Morocco and reigning European Champions Portugal, who are of course captained by Cristiano Ronaldo, who Queiroz knows so well from their time together at Manchester United.
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"It's going to be special, as it always is when you take on great players. In this case, it's the best player in the world.
"But when the match starts there are just two teams who are trying to win. Football will decide who wins the day and who was better on the field of play.
"The memories stay with you, of course they do, especially in shared projects, like we had at Manchester and the Portuguese national team. That was a long time ago, though.
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"Times have changed and now I've got other Ronaldos with me. They're important players... the likes of [Alireza] Jahanbakhsh, [Reza] Ghoochannejad, [Ali] Karimi. These are the Ronaldos I've got to look after now and who I've got to pay attention to achieve the success we all want."
While Iran may not be fancied by anyone to qualify from their horrifically difficult looking group, Queiroz's men did not disgrace themselves at the 2014 World Cup, with a series of spirited displays against Argentina, Bosnia and Nigeria and could yet spring a surprise or two in Russia, this summer.
(H/T Goal)
Topics: Football News, Football, Barcelona, Lionel Messi, Argentina, World Cup
