- Inter Miami suffered a third consecutive draw against Charlotte on Saturday
- Lionel Messi was unhappy after his team was not awarded a late penalty
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Lionel Messi was involved in a heated altercation with the referee after Inter Miami’s latest draw.
Miami tied Charlotte 1-1 on Saturday night, their third straight draw.
Charlotte had taken the lead in the 56th minute thanks to Karol Swiderski before Messi tied his team with a magnificent finish 10 minutes later.
In the 12th minute of stoppage time, Messi launched the ball over six defenders and towards Jordi Alba, who headed the ball towards Luis Suárez.
However, the Uruguayan striker failed to score from just a few yards out, instead launching the ball over the bar before rolling on the ground in agony after colliding with goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina.
Lionel Messi was involved in an altercation with the referee after the last Inter Miami draw
The Argentine striker allegedly told the referee “you’re a mean son of a bitch.”
Luis Suárez missed a glorious opportunity from close range in the dying moments of the match.
Messi was left furious after the match because he felt his team should have been awarded a penalty at the end. He approached the referee and according to ‘Olé’ via Sports WorldHe told him: ‘You’re a mean son of a bitch.’
The former Barcelona and PSG striker avoided expulsion and was reprimanded, even though the match had already ended.
Before the incident, Charlotte had a goal disallowed for offside after Kerwin Vargas put the ball into the back of the net from close range.
The forward missed a glorious opportunity in the 96th minute, shooting wide of the post.
Messi’s rant comes just a week after he struggled in his first game at Yankee Stadium.
Messi equalized his team with a magnificent shot 10 minutes after Charlotte took the lead
Miami also drew 1-1 against New York City on that occasion, with James Sands scoring the equalizer in the 95th minute for the hosts.
Speaking to the media after the match, NYCFC head coach Nick Cushing addressed the crowd of 44,738 who came to see Messi play.
“I hope you enjoyed the game,” Cushing said. “I hope they see that the level of the league is really exciting.” Two teams attacking each other. I was proud to have created opportunities in the game.
‘One thing I will say is that our support section and all the New York City fans that came out tonight pushed us all the way. “They supported us during the game, they gave us life and energy.”
Despite three consecutive ties, Miami is close to winning the Supporters’ Shield, a title awarded to the team with the best regular season record.
Despite three straight draws, Miami is close to winning the Supporters’ Shield
They remain top of the Eastern Conference and are eight points ahead of the second-place Columbus Crew with three games remaining.
The top two will meet when Miami visits Lowe.com Field on Wednesday night (local time).
