Major League Soccer says Lionel Messi did not violate league policy when he followed referees through a door after Inter Miami’s 3-0 loss to LAFC on Saturday night in Los Angeles.
MLS reviewed the matter after a video, posted by Síntesis Deportes reporter Giovanni Guerrero, appeared to show Messi attempting to confront referees in the bowels of the LA Memorial Coliseum shortly after the match.
In the video, Luis Suárez, Messi’s longtime friend and teammate, attempts to restrain Messi. Despite Suárez’s tugs at Messi’s arm, though, Messi disappears through the door. Eight seconds later, he re-emerges and walks with other Inter Miami players toward their locker room.
An MLS spokesperson, however, told The Athletic that the door in the video was not to the referees’ locker room, and Messi did not enter a restricted area.
The league’s review found no violations, and the case, therefore, is effectively closed.
Chris Rivett, a spokesman for the Professional Referee Organization (which manages referees across all professional soccer in the U.S. and Canada) told The Athletic via email: “After speaking with the match officials, we can confirm Lionel Messi did not enter the officials’ locker room.”
Spokespeople for Inter Miami, LAFC and the Professional Soccer Referees Association — the labor union that represents MLS referees — did not immediately respond to messages Sunday morning seeking comment.
Messi, Inter Miami’s captain, frequently speaks to referees, but has never been fined or suspended by MLS for confronting or berating them.
Last season, he was fined “for violating the hands to the face/head/neck of an opponent policy” after a game against New York City FC. He was also suspended for one match last summer after he skipped the MLS All-Star game. But those were unrelated to conduct toward referees.
Messi, barring an unforeseen twist, will be eligible for Inter Miami’s next match on Sunday, March 1, against Orlando. He and Miami then travel to face D.C. United in Baltimore on March 7.
