Messi punished for insulting ref

Lionel Messi has been banned from Argentina’s next four World Cup qualifiers, starting with Tuesday’s game in Bolivia, which Argentina lost 2-0. Messi was banned for “having directed insulting words at an assistant referee” against Chile last Thursday, FIFA said. Messi and the Argentine soccer federation can appeal the ban to FIFA. Messi was also fined 10,000 Swiss francs ($13,488). After the 1-0 win over Chile, Messi refused to shake hands with the assistant who had annoyed him. Messi will also miss Argentina’s game at Uruguay on Aug. 31, and home games against Venezuela on Sept. 5 and Peru on Oct. 5.