Main League Soccer has cleared Lionel Messi of wrongdoing after the Argentinian appeared to pursue match officers after Inter Miami’s season-opening loss to LAFC on Saturday night.
In a video posted to X by Síntesis Deportes reporter Giovanni Guerrero, Messi seems to confront match officers as they entered a doorway inside the LA Coliseum after the match, a 3-0 win for LAFC. Miami ahead Luis Suárez is seen restraining Messi, who slips out of his teammate’s grip and disappears behind a door. He emerged seconds later and retreated with Suárez to Miami’s locker room.
“The realm [Messi entered] wasn’t a restricted space, which might have been marked off with signage” an MLS spokesperson informed the Guardian on Sunday. “It was not the referee’s locker room. The league reviewed the sequence, and didn’t discover Messi or one other individual concerned in violation of any league insurance policies.”
Chris Rivett, director of communications at Skilled Referee Group (Professional), the physique that administers skilled refereeing in North America, stated that it was confirmed with the match officers that Messi didn’t enter their locker room.
The video of Messi, which unfold on social media on Saturday evening and Sunday morning, harkened again to the same incident in 2023 involving FC Cincinnati defender Matt Miazga. Miazga acquired a three-match suspension – later decreased to 2 – for getting into the referee’s altering room after a playoff win over the New York Purple Bulls.
The Skilled Soccer Referees Affiliation (PSRA), the labor union who symbolize MLS referees, stated that Miazga had been “forcibly eliminated” from the locker room after “angrily” confronting match officers, an outline that FC Cincinnati officers disagreed with.
League investigators used video footage in that case, as nicely, although it was by no means publicly launched. Miazga was compelled out of a pair of playoff matches, and Cincinnati had been eradicated within the Japanese Convention finals by the Columbus Crew.
Messi has a historical past in MLS of criticizing officers. After a 3-0 loss to Orlando Metropolis SC in 2025, Messi used a uncommon post-game interview on Apple TV to criticize Guido Gonzales Jr after the referee appeared to overlook a backpass. Orlando scored a purpose on the following sequence, and Messi stated that Gonzales had admitted to failing to make the decision.
“Typically there are errors in vital moments,” Messi informed Apple TV. “It occurred the final sport, too. Not excuses, however there are at all times points with referees and I feel MLS has to take a look at among the officiating.”
A sport prior, Messi and Suárez got yellow playing cards for dissent after angrily confronting the match referee. 4 days earlier than that, in a sport towards the San Jose Earthquakes, Messi was carded once more – this time after the match – after an offended confrontation with referee Joe Dickerson, who Messi thought missed a foul in additional time.
The Argentinian has by no means confronted disciplinary motion for any of his actions in the direction of referees in MLS. He has twice been disciplined for unrelated actions: he was fined for putting his fingers round NYC FC assistant coach Mehdi Ballouchy’s neck within the moments after a match final 12 months and served a one-game suspension final summer season for lacking the MLS All-Star Sport.
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