Major League Soccer said Intermiami superstar Lionel Messi “a private amount of money for his role in an argument with New York City FC assistant coach Maedi Baruchy at the end of Saturday's 2-2 draw was fined for the following reasons:
Messi grabbed Balaucci's neck during the post-match interaction, shocking the NYCFC assistant, turning him forward before the football legend finally left the field.
In the announcement, the MLS Disciplinary Committee said that Messi “violates the face/head/neck of opponent policy after the final whit of Saturday's season opening match at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. “He was fined.
Messi also had a verbal discussion with Judge Principal Alexis Da Silva just before the incident with Ballouchy.
The man who led the Argentina national team to World Cup glory in 2022 was given a yellow card and had to tell Dasilva to back up when he cried out.
On Monday, Intermiami head coach Javier Mascherano tried to downplay the incident by blaming the media for creating a “circus.”
“There's not much to say,” Mascherano said. “When you're on the pitch, it's difficult, and sometimes you can see some mistakes from the referee, so you think things aren't the right way. But in the end, in football, You have to be inside the pitch to understand the emotions of players and players. …It's sometimes difficult to control emotions.
“I think the media wants to get the circus excited about it sometimes. It happens in every game and you can talk with the referee and the opposite player. That's important – what we say in Argentina – we I say, what happens [on] Stay in Pitch [on] pitch. ”
Both the MLS spokesman and NYCFC officials declined to comment on the incident when the post reached Monday.
Along with Messi, Intermiami forward Luis Suarez said he had placed his hand on NYCFC defender Burk Lisa's neck at halftime, saying, “A private amount for violating the opponent's policy's face/head/neck. I was punished.
