The German referee, Wolfgang Stark, who will lead the match between Argentina and Nigeria, said “I would love to change my shirt with him, of course. But it would have to be in the locker room, because if not, I should show them the yellow card”.

Stark made public his admiration for the Argentine crack. The referee had already performed in a match in which “La Pulga” played; the second leg of the quarterfinals of the Champions League, in which Barcelona beat Arsenal 4-0.

“I remember the great match he did against Arsenal when he scored four goals against Barcelona. And also remember that he asked me for the ball. Of course I gave him the ball, after scoring so many goals, he deserved it. That ball should be a nice memory for Messi, “recalled the German judge.

Stark now hopes for a return of favors. “I would love to change my shirt with him, but, anyway, and given the quality of the player, I think that several Nigerian players will be very interested in having his jersey.”

“When I found out that I was going to be the referee of Argentina vs. Nigeria, I was very happy because this is one of the most important matches of the group, with one of the favorites,” he concluded.


source: http://momento24.com/en/2010/06/08/the-argentina-nigeria-referee-wants-to-swap-shirts-with-messi/

Should a ref show this kind of admiration for a player before a crucial world cup match? what this ref has not said is even louder than what has been said. HE SIMPLY WILL DO EVERYTHING TO  FAVOUR MESSI.