La Liga launch investigation on Messi and his Barcelona teammates

The Spanish football league has reportedly launched an investigation against Messi and the Barcelona squad over a COVID-19 breach.

The Barcelona players are reportedly under investigation for breaching COVID-19 regulations by attending a team lunch at Lionel Messi’s property in Castelldefels.

After a training session on Monday, Messi welcomed his teammates and partners to his home for lunch. Reports claim they all dined on separate tables and respected the social distancing rules.

La Liga has opened an investigation into whether Barcelona's players breached coronavirus regulations by attending a lunch at Messi's house, a league source confirmed to ESPN. pic.twitter.com/Y55dcMB8Cc

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) May 4, 2021

According to ESPN, however, the Spanish league has opened an investigation into the get-together.

La Liga officials have been quite uncompromising over their social distancing guidelines, especially after four Sevilla players attended a barbecue together before the lockdown ended last May.

The Barcelona players alone, and not the club itself, will be investigated by La Liga.

❗| LaLiga has opened a file on the players that attended Messi's dinner. This file was opened on the players, and not the club as a whole. Barça insists that the meeting can be considered as a work lunch, due to the fact that the players meet each other daily for training. [AS] pic.twitter.com/Ihx9u4W41Y

— La Senyera (@LaSenyera) May 4, 2021

Messi and his Blaugrana teammates, meanwhile, aren’t expected to report back to training until Wednesday.

With no Champions League football this week, Barcelona won’t return to action until Saturday for a top-of-the-table clash with La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid at Camp Nou.