May 20 – Inter Miami suffered their fifth defeat in seven matches on Sunday, prompting captain Lionel Messi to deliver a rare post-game interview in which he criticised the standard of refereeing in Major League Soccer (MLS).
Messi told MLS Season Pass sideline reporter Michele Giannone: “We’re coming off a period of poor results, but we have to keep working and think about what’s coming up. We have three or four games left to finish the month and finish in the best possible way so that we can then focus on the Club World Cup.”
He continued: “When everyone wins, it’s easy, but now that difficult times are coming, that’s when we have to be more united than ever, be a true team, and move forward, because we have what it takes.”
Messi also took aim at MLS referees, saying that “specific errors” in critical moments have cost his team. The Argentine felt that referee Guido Gonzales Jr. missed an intentional backpass in their loss to Orlando City, which ultimately led to Orlando scoring the game’s first goal.
Calling the incident a “strange play,” Messi told Apple TV that referee Gonzales Jr. told him “he didn’t know the rule and didn’t see it that way.”
“From there came their long pass and the goal,” Messi said. “Sometimes there are errors in critical moments. It happened in the last game, too. Those aren’t excuses, but there are always issues with referees and I think MLS has to look at some of the officiating.”
The 37-year-old joined Inter Miami during the 2023 season and initially seemed to have carte blanche when it came to referees. However, with results turning against his team, Messi has become increasingly vocal about officiating decisions.
In the previous match against the San Jose Earthquakes, he angrily confronted referee Joe Dickerson at the end of the game to dispute several decisions, leading Earthquakes manager Bruce Arena to intervene.
“He was obviously not happy, and I wanted to make sure he wasn’t going to get a red card,” Arena said after that game. “I just tried to move him out of the way, because for him to get a red card at the end of the game would have been ridiculous.”
Contact the writer of this story, Nick Webster, at moc.l1747777131labto1747777131ofdlr1747777131owedi1747777131sni@r1747777131etsbe1747777131w.kci1747777131n1747777131