Major League Soccer is looking into misconduct claims against Inter Miami related to the signing of Brazilian player Casemiro.
On Wednesday, shortly after Inter Miami announced the signing of Casemiro to a deal that lasts until the end of this season, the league disclosed in a press release that an investigation was underway. The contract also includes an option to extend through June 2029.
“MLS is examining allegations of tampering against Inter Miami CF. The league is currently collecting relevant details and will not provide further comments until the review is finished,” the statement said. “Inter Miami CF and LA Galaxy have reached an agreement regarding the Discovery Priority contract for Casemiro, although the terms will be lifted once the tampering inquiry concludes.”
Now, the focus shifts to whether Inter Miami bypassed MLS’s “Discovery Rights” system. This process allows clubs to designate up to six players on a ‘discovery list’, giving them privileged status for contractual negotiations. Casemiro was already on LA Galaxy’s priority list before Inter Miami signed him, the team co-owned by David Beckham.
If a player is on a team’s ‘discovery list’, only that club can negotiate with the player, effectively barring other MLS teams from initiating contact.
According to the intricate rules governing MLS rosters, a team can obtain discovery rights from another club by offering “$50,000 in general allocation money in exchange for the privilege to sign a player.”
“A club with a player on the Discovery List will then have five days (or three days during the secondary transfer window) to either (i) accept the general allocation fee and allow the transfer of signing rights, or (ii) make a reasonable offer for the player,” the rules state.
ESPN has reported that the LA Galaxy has lodged a tampering complaint against Inter Miami.
