Lionel Messi Accused by Filipe Luis of Being Protected by Press and La Liga

Atletico Madrid defender Filipe Luis says Lionel Messi is shielded by the La Liga hierarchy and the Spanish media because of his status in the game.

Luis was sent off for an aggressive tackle on the Barcelona superstar in Atleti's 2-1 defeat to the Blaugrana in January and, although he admits he deserved to be dismissed, he accused the press and Spanish league of giving Messi preferential treatment, per TV Esporte Interativo (via Football Espana):

"

I admit it was a red card, the referee wasn't wrong. I sought the ball but very aggressively, with a high foot, and Leo was there. It was a fair red, I left the pitch, served a ban and that's it. 

It's a phase of play which happens in every game, but it happened on Messi. He's protected by the Press and by the League. I believe they don't want one of their best players of all time to be injured and not play. 

Still, I slept easily because I didn’t want to hurt him at any time. [On the rematch], I approach every game with the same intensity and try not to be so aggressive in games like these. Many players enter the pitch just to change shirts, but I don't. If you give Messi a metre, he’ll snatch the ball and leave you behind. My objective is to be intense so he can't do anything.

"

The 30-year-old left-back received a three-game ban for his tackle on Messi, a challenge that was widely criticised as unnecessary and dangerous, per the Mirror's Ed Malyon:

The incident can be seen in the below video:

It was the Brazilian's first red card of the season, but he has been issued nine yellow cards in the current La Liga campaign, per WhoScored.com.

Messi walked away from the challenge unscathed, and Barca have since stretched their lead at the top of La Liga to eight points ahead of second-placed Atleti.

The Argentinian has been hugely influential as Barca have gone on a record run of 36 games unbeaten, his combined goal tally with Neymar and Luis Suarez reaching the 100 mark for the current campaign at the weekend, per Unibet:

Messi himself has scored 21 goals in La Liga, a remarkable return considering he was out injured for almost two months from late September, per WhoScored. 

It was one of the more lengthy lay-offs of the 28-year-old's remarkable career as he has managed to avoid major injuries in recent years.

While Luis may suggest that is because of preferential treatment, the reality is more likely to be that Messi gets fouled more than most because he is almost unstoppable at times by any legitimate means.

The fact that he has avoided injury in the main is seemingly more a testament to his strength and fitness than proof that he gets special treatment.