Mexican boxer Canelo Alvarez apologized after publicly threatening Lionel Messi on Twitter on Wednesday.
What Happened: Alvarez accused Messi of insulting Mexico as a viral dressing-room video appeared to show the Argentine captain nudging away a Mexican jersey on the floor with his foot.
Following the viral video, a furious Alvarez tweeted in Mexican, “Did you guys see Messi cleaning the floor with our jersey and flag.”
See Also: Here’s How Much $100 Bet On Saudi Arabia To Beat Argentina Paid Out And The Impact On World Cup Odds
“He better pray to God that I don’t find him,” Alvarez added.
“Just as I respect Argentina, you have to respect Mexico! I’m not talking about the country, I’m talking about Messi because of the bulls**t he did,” Alvarez said in a series of tweets.
However, the Mexican boxer soon realized that he got “carried away” and apologized for his comments.
“These last few days I got carried away by the passion and love I feel for my country and made comments that were out of place for which I want to apologize to Messi and the people of Argentina. Every day we learn something new and this time it was my turn.” Alvarez said.
Argentina lost its opening World Cup fixture to Saudi Arabia, and then won its next two matches — against Mexico and Poland — to advance to the round of 16.
After Argentina’s win over Poland, Messi, according to Reuters, told the media, “I saw that he spoke now, but I think it was a misunderstanding, those who know me know that I don’t disrespect anyone (…) I don’t have to apologize because I didn’t disrespect the people of Mexico or the shirt or anyone.”
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