Football
ESPN staff 7y

Argentina players still refusing to talk to media following boycott - reports

The Argentina squad have stuck to their decision to boycott the media, opting not to speak to reporters ahead of their upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Chile and Bolivia, according to media reports.

Argentina's players first made the move back in November when Lionel Messi led the team into the postmatch news conference after a 3-0 win against Colombia and declared that they will no longer talk to the media after accusations were made regarding teammate Ezequiel Lavezzi.

Argentina players did not speak to reporters awaiting their arrival at Ezeiza international airport in Buenos Aires on Monday. Coach Edgardo Bauza told reporters that he would have a team meeting to convince them to change their stance.

Messi and Javier Mascherano, meanwhile, are reportedly due to be picked up by a car on the runway to take them to the team's training base to avoid the media following their arrival from Barcelona on Tuesday.

Argentina host Chile on Thursday before making the trip to Bolivia five days later.

They are currently one point and one position off the automatic World Cup qualifying spots in fifth, a placing that would see them have to negotiate an intercontinental playoff to reach the tournament in Russia in 2018.

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