Canelo Alvarez made a mistake, but he is taking steps to rectify it.
The Mexican boxer has issued an apology to Lionel Messi, whom he previously criticized for disrespecting Mexico. He had initially warned Messi on social media after Argentina’s tense 2-0 victory over Mexico in Group C on Saturday. Messi scored the first goal, but a video circulating on social media suggested that he had stepped on the Mexican flag.
Álvarez tweeted, “Did you see Messi cleaning the floor with our shirt and flag????” in reference to a video showing Messi celebrating with his teammates in the locker room.
The video depicted Messi’s foot making contact with a Mexico shirt on the ground, but there was no evidence that Messi deliberately kicked the shirt.
“He better pray to God that I don’t find him!!” Álvarez added in another tweet, accompanied by a series of angry emojis. “Just as I respect Argentina, he should respect Mexico! I’m not referring to the country as a whole, just the nonsense Messi pulled.”
Messi’s former Argentina teammate Sergio Agüero responded to the boxer, stating: “Mr. Canelo, don’t look for excuses or create problems; surely you don’t understand football and what happens in a locker room.
“After games, the shirts are typically left on the floor due to sweat, and if you look closely, he lifts his foot to remove his boot, accidentally hitting it.”
Álvarez took to social media to apologize, posting on Wednesday: “In recent days, I let my passion and love for my country lead me to make inappropriate comments, so I want to apologize to Messi and the people of Argentina.
“Every day we learn something new, and this time it was my turn.”
Argentina went on to top its group with a 2-0 victory over Poland.
Mexico emerged victorious against Saudi Arabia, but it was insufficient. Due to Argentina’s 2-0 win over Poland in a concurrent match, Mexico failed to advance from its group for the first time since 1978.
Mexico had advanced to the round of 16 in the previous seven World Cups, a streak that was jointly held with Brazil.
