FIFA have opened a "disciplinary procedure" to investigate Lionel Messi's behaviour towards an assistant referee in the Argentina-Chile game and if he is found guilty of using "offensive, rude and obscene" language, the Albiceleste captain could miss between two and four matches as a punishment.
The Argentinian Football Association (AFA) were notified by a letter on Monday, signed by the Disciplinary Commission, citing Messi's verbal aggression.
AFA have already responded, suggesting that there were not enough elements to prove that the Argentine captain had in fact used inappropriate language.
However, FIFA have insisted on following through with the complaint and have requested more information from AFA.
In addition, the four Brazilian officials in charge at the Estadio Monumental; referee Sandro Ricci, assistants Marcelo Vangasse and Dewson Silva, and fourth referee Emerson Carvalho were consulted.
They all ratified their initial report and said they had not heard Messi's words.
In any case, FIFA reminded AFA that, under Article 77, "the disciplinary commission has jurisdiction to sanction a player if the referees did not notice the verbal aggression."
AFA will have until 09.00 CET on Tuesday to present all the evidence of the case and then FIFA will make their decision.
"I think Messi is going to play, I do not see a lot of arguments to get him sanctioned, it's all very strange," Armando Perez, president of the AFA Normalization Committee, said to TyC Sports.
The newspaper "The Nation," however, said that "the punishment for Messi will be harder than imagined: he will be out for between two and four qualifying games."
A suspension, if it is for two matches, would prevent Messi from playing against Bolivia and in the Uruguay fixture in Montevideo on August 31.
If the punishment reaches four games, then Messi will also miss Venezuela (September 5) and Peru (October 5).
In that eventuality, Argentina's captain would only be eligible for one more quaifier; the last one, against Ecuador in Quito.