World football’s governing body FIFA has given its approval for a tribute to Lionel Messi during a match.
The Argentine is just two away from beating Telmo Zarra’s record of 251 La Liga goals, which has stood for six decades, and he could even surpass that figure in Saturday’s Clasico against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu.
“It’s an internal matter and depends on the federation of the country involved. There is nothing specific in the rules,” said a spokesperson, reports Marca.
Javier Tebas, President of the Spanish League, is also in favour of the Barcelona striker being honoured in this manner.
“Messi deserves a tribute and if he beats Zarra’s record then it should reflect that. It will be a historic moment,” he commented.
However, the Spanish Football Association (RFEF) has stressed there are no plans to hold a tribute, either during or after El Clasico.
“We haven’t had any requests from Barca and nobody has approached us about anything,” stated an RFEF spokesperson.
“We know the idea has been spoken about in the Press but at the moment we aren’t considering staging anything.
“I don’t even know if it’s within the rules as it’s something that has never arisen before.”