Lionel Messi blasts ‘coward’ referee in ‘angry’ outburst during Inter Miami draw vs New York City
Inter Miami superstar Lionel Messi hit out at the referee in charge of his side’s 2-2 draw against MLS rivals New York City on Sunday evening.
The 37-year-old has been a revelation since joining Inter Miami from Paris Saint-Germain, grabbing 35 goals and 20 assists in his 41 appearances for the MLS outfit.
Inter Miami had their first game of the 2025 MLS season on Sunday night as they hosted New York City.
It was a dramatic encounter as Messi contributed two assists in the 2-2 draw. Inter Miami’s Tomas Aviles opened the scoring in the opening ten minutes but was sent off before the break.
Mitja Ilenic and Alonso Martinez netted to turn the game around before Telasco Segovia equalised for Inter Miami deep into stoppage time.
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Messi was booked for dissent in the closing stages of the match as he confronted referee Alexis Da Silva.
TYC Sports reports an ‘angry’ Messi called Da Silva a “coward” as the incident has been dissected by a lip reader.
‘”You’re a coward!” was one of the few things that could be read on the lips of the captain of the Argentine National Team, who earned a warning after the strong confrontation.
‘In addition, Messi protested with the rest of the refereeing team and even grabbed one of the [Inter Miami] assistants by the back of the neck before leaving for the locker room in a notable rage.’
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Messi had another run-in with a referee during his side’s recent Concacaf Champions League win against Kansas City.
The governing body had to ‘sanction a referee’ after they ‘asked Messi for his autograph’.
‘Referee Marco Antonio Ortiz approached Messi at the end of the match and asked him for an autograph for a family member with special needs.
‘Given this scenario, Concacaf decided to sanction the referee for his inappropriate behaviour.’
After Inter Miami’s draw against New York City, head coach Javier Mascherano said Messi is the “soul of this team”.
“Messi is the soul of this team. You saw this on the pitch. He is a kid playing and he doesn’t want to lose,” Mascherano said.
“So for us it’s a big big advantage. So we just need to keep him with this spirit. Because it’s not just what he does on the pitch.
“It’s what he translates to his teammates and all that he does with his 37 years. He’s not just playing in attack, he helps us in defense, running the centre-back, running the whole midfield. So he’s magnificent.”
