Injured Messi, suspended Argentine coach Scaloni to miss Copa America game vs Peru

Argentina’s traveling Copa America party continued Friday with the opening of the Albiceleste Fan Zone and a “Banderazo” pep rally at Bayside Marketplace in downtown Miami on the eve of the game against Peru at Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday night.

Thousands of fans decked in sky blue and white flooded Times Square in New York City before Tuesday’s game against Chile, and a similar crowd is expected in South Florida this weekend.

But a cloud hung over the festivities as injured team captain Lionel Messi and suspended coach Lionel Scaloni will not participate in the game, which kicks off at 8 p.m. and is expected to draw a sellout crowd.

Messi, the Inter Miami star and eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, will skip the game as he recovers from an upper right thigh injury he sustained early in Tuesday’s game. He is one of several starters who is expected to be rested, as Argentina already clinched a spot in the quarterfinals.

Messi complained of “discomfort” in the adductor area of his thigh, had tests done, and it was ruled a minor injury, according to Argentine reporter Gaston Edul. He missed Argentina’s training session at FIU on Thursday but was expected to practice on Friday.

Inter Miami coach Tata Martino said Friday morning that he had not spoken to Messi, but his understanding was that Messi was undergoing tests and if they came out ok, he would sit out the game Saturday and prepare for the quarterfinal July 4 at NRG Stadium in Houston.

“As for the absence of Leo, all know what Leo means not only to our team, but to the sport in general, so the rest of us will go out there and do the best we can,” said Argentine defender German Pezzella. “It is a privilege to wear this shirt.”

Scaloni was banned by CONMEBOL, the South American soccer governing body, for one game and fined $15,000 because the Argentine players were late returning to the field for the second half in their two previous Copa América matches, a 2-0 win against Canada in the opener in Atlanta, and a 1-0 victory over Chile.

Chilean coach Ricardo Gareca was also suspended and fined the same amount for the same infraction. The coaches were prohibited from attending pre-game news conferences on Friday and the post-match news conferences on Saturday.

According to Article 145 of Copa America rules, players and coaches must be on the field at the designated time after the halftime intermission and will be warned after a first violation. The sanctions came after the second violation.

Canadian players and their coach, Jesse Marsch, publicly complained about Argentina’s late return for the second half of the tournament opener.

“Our guys were waiting [on the field] and I knew [Argentina] were looking at video and analyzing how they wanted to play against us and I wish the referees would manage that,” Marsch said his postmatch remarks. “If we were five minutes late, we’d get a fine, there would be a big problem. Let’s see what happens with Argentina. I think there has to be a fine.”

Asked how long his team waited, Marsch replied: “A long time. They had that time to prepare for how they wanted to prepare for us in the second half. If we had known in advance we could take an extra 10 minutes, then we could have prepared some things…Argentina should be fined.”

Walter Samuel, the assistant coach who will fill in for Scaloni on Saturday, said Scaloni was upset with the suspension. “He is upset because we consider ourselves an upstanding coaching staff and in six years in charge, we have not had sanctions like these, so it is upsetting. He wanted to be with the team on Saturday…If we were late coming out, it was not to gain any kind of advantage. But we have to accept the punishment and move on.”

Peru coach Jorge Fossati, who is from Uruguay, said it was a shame that Scaloni will not be the sideline for Argentina.

“It is not good for the festival that is Copa America for a head coach to be absent for a detail like his team being a few minutes late to the field,” Fossati said. “There are other issues that need to be taken into consideration, such as that the 15-minute clock should not start immediately at the end of the first half, but rather when the teams leave the field. Also, in some of these stadiums in the United States, the locker rooms are very far from the field.”

Argentina, which is guaranteed a quarterfinal spot with six points, needs a tie or a win against Peru to secure first place in Group A. Peru has not scored yet in two games in this Copa, a 0-0 tie with Chile and a 1-0 loss to Canada. The Peruvians can advance with a win against Argentina and a tie between Canada and Chile with a win over Argentina and a win by Chile over Cananda with the help of tiebreakers.

“We know Argentina is a very good team and has very good players,” said Peruvian defender Alexander Callens who plays in Greece for AEK Athens. “The only result that would help us is to win and then depend on other results, and we will come out the same way we always do. A lot can happen in 90 minutes, so we’ll see what happens.”

Peru’s coach Fossati has plenty of international experience. He coached the Uruguay national team as well as the Qatar national team. Among the players to watch are Gianluca Lapadula, who plays for Cagliari in Italy, and Boca Juniors player Luis Advincula.

Fossati was asked if the preparation for the game changes knowing Messi will not be on the field. He said: “Without a doubt the plan changes when the opponent is missing someone considered the best player in the world, with good reason. But often when the star player is missing, it lifts the collective effort of the others. So, we have to take the same precautions whether Leo plays or not.”

Although Argentina is a heavy favorite against Peru, defender German Pezzella said he and his teammates are not taking the game lightly.

“Every time you put on this shirt, it is like a final and we take that responsibility seriously,” Pezzella said. We cannot take any team or game lightly.”

How to Watch Argentina vs Peru: The game kicks off at 8 p.m. and can be seen on FS1.