Lionel Messi touched New York City's assistant coach Mehdi Ballouchy on the back of the neck.
Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi and his teammate, Luis Suarez received punishment from MLS on Tuesday for their inappropriate conduct against New York City FC in the opening match of the 2025 MLS season. Both players were issued an undisclosed fine from the league.
Lionel Messi, the reigning Major League Soccer MVP, grabbed two assists in an eventful 2-2 draw in Florida. 10-man Miami survived a defeat and walked away with one point from their first MLS game. Messi provided a clutch assist to Telasco Segovia, who scored an equalizer in stoppage time.
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After a tense affair on Saturday, tempers flared on the pitch between players, and members of both coaching staffs. Inter Miami players were unhappy with the referee, who denied a second yellow card to New York City FC in the stoppage time of the first half. Miami were one player down due to an early red card and they also received a yellow before the break.
Lionel Messi was involved in an argument with head referee, Alexis Da Silva. He was also angry with match referee, Rosendo Mendoza, who was awful with his referrals during the game. The Argentine also touched New York City’s assistant coach Mehdi Ballouchy on the back of the neck.
It was a complete violation of MLS’s discipline rule which reads, “individuals witnessed to have contacted the face, head, and/or neck of an opponent, which incites or escalates an individual incident (as determined by the Disciplinary Committee) will receive a minimum of a fine.”
The MLS Discipline Committee announced the fine to the Inter Miami superstar for “violating the hands to the face/head/neck of an opponent policy.” However, the league didn’t reveal the fine as it will be an undisclosed amount.
Messi’s close friend and Miami teammate, Luis Suarez was also fined an undisclosed amount for violating the same rule. The former Barcelona striker was involved in an argument with a New York City player at halftime.
The whole drama started when the referee denied a second yellow for NYCFC for the reckless tackle on an Inter Miami player. Suarez led Miami’s protest against match referee, Rosendo Mendoza.
Image Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
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