Foot & Soccer Soccer Match Reports, Football News 
Inter Miami made its debut within the 2025 MLS season on Saturday, however controversy rapidly adopted. After incidents in the course of the opening match between the Herons and New York Metropolis FC, Main League Soccer (MLS) determined to high-quality stars Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.
The sport was heated from the beginning, with a pink card issued to center-back Tomas Aviles within the twenty third minute. Each Messi and Suarez have been concerned in separate incidents, every leading to fines for violating MLS coverage relating to contact with an opponent’s face, head, or neck.
In Messi’s case, shortly after receiving a yellow card for confronting referee Rosendo Mendoza, NYCFC assistant coach Mehdi Ballouchy mentioned one thing to the Argentine. After having a little bit dialog, Messi, as he was leaving, he grabbed Ballouchy by the neck.
Suarez’s state of affairs, whereas much less publicized, mirrored Messi’s. The incident occurred throughout halftime, and though the second wasn’t captured by cameras, Suárez was seen grabbing NYCFC defender Birk Risa by the neck, prompting the high-quality.
In keeping with MLS Competitors Tips, each gamers have been topic to a “minimal high-quality” for the incidents. This marks the primary disciplinary high-quality for Messi since his arrival within the league in 2023.
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Coach Mascherano addressed the controversy
The movies of Messi confronting each the referee and NYCFC workers went viral on social media, sparking widespread dialogue. Nevertheless, Inter Miami head coach Javier Mascherano didn’t think about the state of affairs to be as extreme because it appeared.
“I don’t have a lot to say. It’s tough once you’re on the pitch and issues aren’t going the precise approach, particularly once you really feel the referee made a mistake… In soccer, it’s exhausting to manage feelings,” Mascherano defined in a press convention forward of Inter Miami’s match towards Sporting Kansas Metropolis within the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
He additionally downplayed the media’s response to the incident, saying, “I additionally suppose the press typically desires to create a circus round these moments. This occurs in each recreation the place there’s a dialogue with the referee or an opposing participant. As we are saying in Argentina, ‘What occurs on the pitch, stays on the pitch.’ Now, we neglect about it and look forward to the subsequent recreation.”
