Argentina coach Gerardo "Tata" Martino said that his decision to omit Inter Milan striker Mauro Icardi from the Copa America squad due to the player's feud with fellow Argentine and Torino forward Maxi Lopez was down to a code of behaviour.

Lopez's ex-wife Wanda Nara, who has three children with her former husband, divorced Lopez in 2014 and married Icardi that same year. The two are former Sampdoria teammates.

"I always deal in black and white, but over the years I have learned to see some grey area," Martino told Telam news agency. "But regarding the subject of Icardi, we all know what is right and what is wrong.

"The problem with the media is that they also want me to say things the way they are thinking them and I aspire to do the exact opposite. But on my side, everything is clear.

"That is why I always say that this is a journalists' problem and not one of mine. What has happened is that the grey areas for the media are wider the Avenida 9 de Julio [in Buenos Aires]. I am very clear about what is right and what is wrong as are those who ask me about the subject."

Earlier this week, Icardi said he should be judged based on what he does on the playing field and not his personal life.

"I understand the media outburst over my relationship with Wanda but that was three years ago," Icardi told Telam. "Now I think a player should be evaluated for what he does on the playing field. I have a job, I am a forward and I score goals."

Icardi added that he would like to see the Argentina coach move on.

"To Martino I would like to say that in Italy I am in all the newspapers on Mondays. But in Argentina, all they talk about is Wanda [Nara] and gossip," Icardi said. "If you are the coach of a national team, you have to evaluate players based on what they do on the pitch."

Argentina have named their 40-man preliminary squad for the Copa America, which includes Boca Juniors forward Carlos Tevez among a star-studded list that also features Barcelona's Lionel Messi and Javier Mascherano, Manchester City's Sergio Aguero and Martin Demichelis and Paris Saint-Germain's Angel Di Maria and Javier Pastore.

Tevez's Boca Juniors host Cerro Porteno at La Bombonera on Thursday in their return leg of Copa Libertadores round-of-16 action. Boca won the first leg, 2-1.

Martino said that, much like 2018 World Cup qualifying, he anticipates strong squads from other CONMEBOL countries.

"Copa America Centenario is much more than Brazil and Argentina," he told reporters. "Recently we haven't been seeing the best version of Brazil. But Brazil's current struggles do not put us in a better place because other countries are playing at top level. Uruguay is right up there [with Argentina and Brazil] along with Chile and Colombia and Ecuador are at the same level so we should not just be thinking about Brazil."

Team captain Messi will prepare with the squad in Buenos Aires for June's Copa America Centenario, before flying back to Catalonia to give evidence in a tax case and then travelling to the United States for his team's first game in the competition.

May 20 is the deadline for 23-man squads for Copa America. Argentina will play Honduras in a friendly on May 27 in preparation for their Copa America start, which begins on June 6 against Chile at Levi's Stadium near San Francisco, while their group D fixtures also see them face Panama in Chicago on June 10 and Bolivia in Seattle on June 14.

Argentina preliminary squad:

Goalkeepers (5): Mariano Andujar (Estudiantes La Plata, ARG), Nahuel Guzmán (Tigres UANL, MEX), Agustín Marchesin (Santos Laguna, MEX), Sergio Romero (Manchester United, ENG), Gerónimo Rulli (Real Sociedad, ESP)

Defenders (15): Milton Casco (River Plate, ARG), Martín Demichelis (Manchester City, ENG), Ramiro Funes Mori (Everton, ENG), Ezequiel Garay (Zenit St. Petersburg, RUS), Jonathan Maidana (River Plate, ARG), Emmanuel Mas (San Lorenzo, ARG), Gabriel Mercado (River Plate, ARG), Mateo Musacchio (Villarreal, ESP), Nicolas Otamendi (Manchester City, ENG), Javier Pinola (Rosario Central, ARG), Gonzalo Rodríguez (Fiorentina, ARG), Marcos Rojo (Manchester United, ENG), Facundo Roncaglia (Fiorentina, ITA), Leonel Vangioni (River Plate, ARG), Pablo Zabaleta (Manchester City, ENG).

Midfielders (10): Ever Banega (Sevilla, ESP), Lucas Biglia (Lazio, ITA), Augusto Fernández (Atlético Madrid, ESP), Matias Kranevitter (Atletico Madrid, ESP), Javier Mascherano (Barcelona, ESP), Lionel Messi (Barcelona, ESP), Javier Pastore (Paris Saint-Germain, FRA), Roberto Pereyra (Juventus, ITA), Enzo Pérez (Valencia, ESP), Guido Pizarro (Tigres UANL, MEX)

Forwards (10): Lautaro Acosta (Lanus, ARG), Sergio Aguero (Manchester City, ENG), Angel Correa (Atletico Madrid, ESP), Paulo Dybala (Juventus, ITA), Gonzalo Higuain (Napoli, ITA), Erik Lamela (Tottenham Hotspur, ENG), Angel Di Maria (Paris Saint-Germain, FRA), Nicolas Gaitan (Benfica, POR), Ezequiel Lavezzi (Hebeir China Fortune, CHN), Carlos Tevez (Boca Juniors, ARG)