Watch: Messi, Medel Both Red Carded in Copa America Third-Place Altercation

The referee did not hesitate to send off Lionel Messi and Gary Medel after both players physically confronted each other during Argentina's third place playoff match against Chile.

Lionel Messi and Gary Medel were sent off simultaneously after a wild and heated altercation during the Copa America third-place playoff between Argentina and Chile on Saturday.

It happened with Argentina leading 2-0 and at the end of an intense first half. Messi was chasing down Medel to his own and line and gave the Chilean veteran a shove to the back as both went out of bounds and the ball went out of play. That unleashed something fierce in Medel, who bumped chests and appeared to headbutt Messi, who stood up to his opponent but did not retaliate. Nevertheless, referee Mario Diaz de Vivar did not hesitate to pull out the red card for both players, sending them both off in the 37th minute.

CRAZY scenes as Lionel Messi and Gary Medel both get sent off after a wild confrontation at #CopaAmerica (via @ESPNFC) pic.twitter.com/9rEtYaR2Iu

— SI Soccer (@si_soccer) July 6, 2019

It wasn't the first altercation between the two, as earlier in the half, Medel took Messi down from behind with a hard challenge, sparking another scuffle between both sides, which faced off in the finals of the 2015 and 2016 Copa America tournaments before settling for the third-place playoff this time around. 

#CA2019Telemundo ¡Se calientan los ánimos! amonestan a @kingarturo23 por esta reacción
A #Messi lo quieren parar a puras faltas. pic.twitter.com/4OOkxZXsAB

— Telemundo Deportes (@TelemundoSports) July 6, 2019

This was Messi's first red card with Argentina since 2005.