'Neck Grab' Fine and Referee 'forbidden' – Lionel Messi's eventful start to the new Inter Miami season

Lionel Messi's start of the season with Inter Miami has not passed without incidents.

Messi was back in action when the Major League bee soccer campaign started 2025 last weekend and supported twice in a 2-2 draw with New York City FC.

He also played under cold conditions when Inter Miami started her Concacaf Champions Cup campaign with the victory against Sporting Kansas City.

Messi scored a brilliant goal in the victory against Sporting KC – but there are two more moments in which the eight -time Ballon d'Or winner is involved who made the headlines.

Inter Miami started her MLS season on February 22 with a 2-2 draw against New York City FC.

Miami had played most of the game with 10 men after an early red card on Tomas Aviles and needed a goal supported by Messi to save a point.

Messi looked unhappy after the full -time pipe and exchanged words with referee Alexis da Silva.

Messi was asked several times to go away from Da Silva, but not and finally a yellow card.

When Messi then left the field, he stayed and spoke to New York co -trainer Mehdi Baluchy.

Messi started to move away from the conversation, but then turned and put his hand on the back of Ballouchy's neck and pressed hard enough so that the coach looked surprised.

Otherwise Ballouchy did not react – and actually did not move from his place – but watched how Messi went off the field.

The head coach of Inter Miami, Javier Mascherano, played down Messi's reaction and said: “It is difficult if you are on the field and sometimes you think that things don't go the right way because you can see some mistakes from the referee.

“In football, in order to understand the players and the emotions of the players, you have to be in the field. It is difficult to counteract these emotions.

“I think the press sometimes wants [create] A circus over it. That happens in every game when there is one [argument] Between the referee and an opposing player. “

The teammate of Messi, Luis Suarez, also received a fine at half -time of the game to “violate the hands of the face/head/neck of an opponent's policy”.

After the half-time pipe, Suarez was involved in an incident with the New York defender Birk Risa.

Last week it was a referee who landed in hot water after an incident with Messi.

The Mexican referee Marco Antonio Ortiz Nava took over the game of Inter Miami against Sporting KC in the Concacaf Champions Cup.

After the game, Ortiz Nava apparently approached Messi to ask for his shirt.

In a explanation from Concacaf, however, it was announced that Ortiz had spoken to Messi to “ask for an autograph for a family member with special needs”.

The explanation added: “The behavior of the referee does not correspond to the code of conduct of the confederation for agreement officials and existing processes for these types of inquiries.

“The referee recognized his mistake, apologized for the incident and accepted the disciplinary measure that Concacaf used.”

During the ban, he will continue to act in Mexico Liga MX.