Iranians attack Messi on Facebook

The 2014 World Cup draw that grouped Iran with
heavyweights Argentina has provoked thousands of
Iranians to trash the Facebook page of Argentine
superstar Lionel Messi.
Iran was drawn in Group F alongside Argentina,
reigning African champions Nigeria and newcomers
Bosnia-Herzegovina, and will open their fourth
campaign in the final stages of the World Cup on
June 16.
The reaction in Iran was mixed, with some football-
mad Iranians embracing the first-ever chance to
play Argentina, and some even expressing ambitious
hopes of beating the star-studded former World Cup
champions.
But it was a different story online and particularly on
Facebook, which many are able to access despite it
being blocked in Iran under a systematic filtering of
the Internet mechanism.
Several thousand derogatory remarks were left on
Messi's Facebook page, many in Persian, trashing
the 26-year-old superstar, winner of four FIFA
Ballons d'Or — the world player of the year.
Some made fun of the fact that Messi means "of
copper" in Persian.
"Messi, you are made of copper. Even if you were
out of gold, you could not do a damn thing" against
Iran, said one commentator.
The remarks sparked a strong reaction by others
who expressed support for the Barcelona man, and
even apologised for the actions of their compatriots.
"As an Iranian, I want to apologise to you. Iranian
people are not like that at all," said Ali in a post in
English.