Inter Miami CF forward Lionel Messi (10), acknowledges the crowd as Inter Miami fans (La Familia) chant their displeasure with the players over the lack of engagement between players and fans as Inter Miami wins its first home game against the Portland Timbers at the Nu Stadium on Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Miami, Florida.
Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami teammates, hunting for their first home win in their sparkling new Nu Stadium after three ties and a loss, finally got it Sunday night with a 2-0 victory against the Portland Timbers.
But the celebration was a bit muted and the stadium was quieter and less colorful than usual for the first 85 minutes. La Familia, Inter Miami’s collection of ardent supporters’ groups, staged a silent protest because they felt the players have not shown them enough respect and gratitude since they moved to the new venue, according to multiple members of the group.
La Familia members typically bang drums and sing their hearts out from opening to closing whistle but decided to stay quiet and brought no flags or instruments to the stadium. They said the players had walked off the field and headed straight to the locker room after the four home games so far without acknowledging them. They said the only player who took time to wave at them was Noah Allen.
“The players have shown no respect to La Familia, have not come to our stand after the games when we have guys come in as early as 11 a.m. to set up our tailgate and set up our flags inside the stadium,” said JC Aviles of the Southern Legion supporter group. “Not to mention, we sing our hearts out for 90-plus minutes. The only player that came to say hi was Noah Allen and everyone else goes straight to the locker room. Not cool!”
La Familia finally came to life in the 85th minute, began singing, and the stadium atmosphere that had been missing all night was finally back. But one of the chants was not complimentary. One section of La Familia chanted in Spanish: “Players, salute your fans, acknowledge your people, who ask nothing else of you!”
Messi stood at midfield with his hands on his hips, listening to the chant, looking on disapprovingly.
Inter Miami CF forward Lionel Messi (10), left, looks towards the Northside of stadium where Inter Miami fans (La Familia) chant their displeasure with the players over the lack of engagement between players and fans as Inter Miami wins its first home game against the Portland Timbers at the Nu Stadium on Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Miami, Florida. Carl Juste [email protected]
After the game, roughly half of the Inter Miami players, mostly newcomers and younger players, went over toward the North stands, applauded and paid tribute to La Familia. Messi, Rodrigo De Paul, Luis Suarez were among the group that waved at the other sections of the stadium and then went to the tunnel, drawing some whistles from the North stands. Messi seemed to scold La Familia at one point with a finger wag aimed in their direction, showing his displeasure with their protest.
Berterame later said he was surprised at the fans’ reaction, but added that the players could do a better job honoring their fans.
“Obviously, it was surprising, but also, they have a point because they deserve that we recognize them,” Berterame said. “The important thing is that we stay united, on the same side, like today, we won after so much, and that also brings happiness to them.”
Right back Facundo Mura said: “We as players are all at peace and united. We appreciate absolutely everything, the coaching staff, everyone at the club that gives us all we need, and the fans, who always support us. Today was a victory that we all deserved and I feel we need to stay together. We are super appreciative of them, they are part of us and we are all a family.”
Inter Miami fans (La Familia) chant their displeasure with the players over the lack of engagement between players and fans as Inter Miami wins its first home game against the Portland Timbers at the Nu Stadium on Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Miami, Florida. Carl Juste [email protected]
After the game, asked about the fan protest, interim coach Guillermo Hoyos said he did not have an opinion on the situation.
“Inter Miami is a huge club because of the players who have been champions and won many things, the people made their display, but I have no opinion on it,” Hoyos said.
The building was eerily quiet until Messi scored on a left-footed shot off a back-heel pass from Telasco Segovia to give Miami a 1-0 lead in the 31st minute. Suarez was also involved in the scoring sequence. Berterame doubled Inter Miami’s lead in the 42nd minute and Messi got the assist after a dazzling dribbling display through tight spaces to find his teammate.
The game had added meaning for Inter Miami fans because the Timbers are coached by former Miami coach Phil Neville, who was fired six days before Messi announced he was joining Inter Miami in June of 2023.
Inter Miami was coming off back-to-back road wins at Toronto and Cincinnati and moved up from third place to second in the Eastern Conference with Sunday’s win. Miami has 28 points off eight wins, two losses and four ties, two points behind leader Nashville.
“The players drew, they painted, they made a huge sacrifice because they were exhausted from a very tough week with travel, and they manifested themselves,” Hoyos said. “Congratulations to all who were involved with us in the day-to-day. We are very happy to win and continue growing, little by little.”
Inter Miami CF forward Lionel Messi (10), celebrates with team mate Inter Miami CF midfielder Telasco Segovia (8) after scoring the first goal during the first half of the Inter Miami vs Portland Timbers soccer game at the Nu Stadium on Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Miami, Florida. Carl Juste [email protected]
Hoyos went with the same starting lineup on Sunday: Dayne St. Clair, Gonzalo Lujan, Sergio Reguilon, Micael, Ian Fray, Rodrigo De Paul, Yannick Bright, Telasco Segovia, Luis Suarez, German Berterame, and Messi.
On the bench were Facundo Mura, David Ayala, Noah Allen, Rocco Rios-Novo, Maxi Falcon, David Ruiz, Daniel Pinter, Preston Plambeck, and Alex Shaw. Mateo Silvetti, who returned from injury to score a goal and have an assist off the bench against Cincinnati, was left off the roster, per coach’s decision, to allow him to rest because he aggravated the leg injury that had kept him out. Hoyos said it was a precautionary decision.
The Timbers were in 12th place in the West and coming off a 2-2 midweek tie against FC Montreal.
Neville said in the leadup to the game that while he tried to block out emotions, being back in South Florida brought back many good memories. He added that since Messi joined the team, Inter Miami has raised the bar for the rest of the league.
“Inter Miami over the last three and a half years have taken the whole MLS to another level, and every single person involved, on and off the pitch, should be incredibly excited because what that’s done is raise the bar and everybody else has to catch up. It’s created rivalries. Owners are now competing, which is great, billionaires all wanting to be on top of the tree, spending more money and that only helps the league.”
This story was originally published May 17, 2026 at 7:00 PM.
Michelle Kaufman
Miami Herald
Miami Herald sportswriter Michelle Kaufman has covered 14 Olympics, six World Cups, Wimbledon, U.S. Open, NCAA Basketball Tournaments, NBA Playoffs, Super Bowls and has been the soccer writer and University of Miami basketball beat writer for 25 years. She was born in Frederick, Md., and grew up in Miami.
