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| IN the middle: Barcelona's Argentine forward Lionel Messi. PIC/AFp |
Yesterday, football's governing body issued a statement that it was "mandatory" for players to be released for Olympic duty. The ruling will not please Barca who vowed to take the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to prevent Messi from participating in the Games.
However, the 21-year-old claimed he did not plan to wait for CAS to give him the green light. "I want everything to clarify itself," said Messi as he prepared to fly out to Florence with Barca for a pre-season friendly. "I understand the position of the club because we are playing a lot.
National duty
"From the beginning I have said I want to play for my country and I have never had any problems until now. I am waiting to see what FIFA say, and if they say I don't have to go, I won't go, and if they say I have to go, I will go without waiting for the CAS ruling, because it would be too late for my team-mates and the coaching staff to wait for me.
Once I am there, if CAS decide I have to return, I will return. But, right now, I want to be with my national team."
The Games clash with the dates of the Champions League preliminary round for which Barca insist they will do everything in their power to hold onto the star forward. The Catalan club have persistently argued they should be able to keep Messi for next month's preliminary rounds of the Champions League, set to be played on either August 12 or 13.
While Messi sympathises, he is eager to fly out to Beijing.
"Barca are continuing with their stance that they won't let me go and I also understand that and believe they are right," he continued. "But I also think that they should understand my dream is to play for my country in an Olympic Games."
Messi issue will unsettle Argentina: Australia's coach
Australia Under-23 coach Graham Arnold believes the club-versus-country war being waged over Lionel Messi may unsettle Argentina's preparations for the Olympics.
Argentina is awaiting a FIFA ruling on the availability of the diminutive Barcelona forward.
Australia is pooled with Argentina, Ivory Coast and Serbia for the opening phase of the football tournament in Beijing.
"I am pretty happy he won't be there if he's not going to be there," Arnold said from the team's Korea training base yesterday. "He is getting a lot of pressure from the Argentine press and even Diego Maradona has come out and said he's got to make the decision.
"It could be unsettling for Argentina but I don't really care about them at this stage. I am just worried about us and things are going along fine for us."
