No violations in Lionel Messi’s referee quarrel, MLS says

After Inter Miami's soccer season-opening loss against LAFC, Miami star player Lionel Messi seemed to approach match officials as they entered a passageway inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, but the Major League Soccer organization has cleared the Argentinean of any misconduct.

In a video that Síntesis Deportes reporter Giovanni Guerrero uploaded to social media, Messi escapes his teammate's grasp and vanishes behind a door after initially being restrained by Miami forward Luis Suárez. After a few seconds, he came out and retreated to Miami's locker room with Suárez.

An MLS representative explained that "the area [Messi entered] wasn't a restricted area, which would have been marked off with signage, and that it wasn't the locker room of the game officials. After reviewing the episode, the league determined that neither Messi nor anyone else involved had broken any league rules.

It was verified with the game officials that Messi did not enter their locker room, according to Chris Rivett, head of communications at the Professional Referee Organization (PRO), which oversees professional soccer officiating in North America.

On Saturday night and Sunday morning, the Messi video went viral on social media, reminding people of a similar occurrence that happened in 2023 with FC Cincinnati defender Matt Miazga. After a playoff victory over the New York Red Bulls, Miazga entered the referee's changing room, earning him a three-match suspension that was ultimately lowered to two.

The Professional Soccer Referees Association (PSRA), the labor union who represent MLS referees, said that Miazga had been “forcibly removed” from the locker room after “angrily” confronting match officials, a description that FC Cincinnati officials disagreed with.

Although it was never made public, league investigators also used camera footage in that case. The Columbus Crew eliminated Cincinnati in the Eastern Conference finals, and Miazga was pushed out of two playoff games.

Messi has a track record of attacking MLS officials. Messi criticized Guido Gonzales Jr. in a rare post-game interview on Apple TV during a 3-0 loss to Orlando City SC in 2025 when the referee seemed to miss a backpass. On the following sequence, Orlando scored a goal, and according to Messi, Gonzales acknowledged that he had missed the call.

“Sometimes there are errors in critical moments,” Messi told Apple TV. “It happened in the last game, too. Not excuses, but there are always issues with referees and I think MLS has to look at some of the officiating.”

Messi and Suárez were sent off for excessive dissent in the previous game after yelling at the referee. In a match against the San Jose Earthquakes four days prior, Messi was carded once more, this time following the game, following an altercation with referee Joe Dickerson, whom Messi believed had missed a foul in extra time.

The Argentinean has never been disciplined for whatever he has done against MLS officials. He has twice been disciplined for unrelated actions: he was fined for placing his hands around NYC FC assistant coach Mehdi Ballouchy’s neck in the moments after a match last year and served a one-game suspension last summer for missing the MLS All-Star Game, which is a required appearance for the players selected.

Source:

“Lionel Messi’s referee confrontation in tunnel did not violate policy, MLS says” , theguardian.com, February 22, 2026.