A referee has been banned for six months after asking Lionel Messi for an autograph last week.
Mexican official Marco Antonio Ortiz Nava was in charge of Inter Miami’s clash with Sporting Kansas City in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup first round clash last Thursday.
GettyThe referee asked Messi for an autograph[/caption]
After the game, Ortiz Nava appeared to approach Messi, seemingly asking for his shirt.
However, CONCACAF later clarified in a statement that the referee had actually spoken to Messi to “request an autograph for a family member with special needs.”
The statement continued: “The referee’s conduct does not align with the Confederation’s Code of Conduct for match officials and existing processes for these types of requests.
“The referee has acknowledged his mistake, apologised for the incident, and accepted the disciplinary action CONCACAF has applied.”
It’s been reported that Ortiz Nava did receive a shirt from Messi after the match.
Despite this, it’s also said that he has been suspended from officiating in CONCACAF competitions for six months as a consequence of his actions.
Despite the ban, he will still be permitted to referee in Mexico’s Liga MX.
Messi scored the only goal of the game last week with Inter Miami winning the second leg 3-1 on Tuesday night thanks to goals from Messi, Tadeo Allende and Luis Suarez, thus going through 4-1 on aggregate.
The incident comes just days after Messi was involved in an altercation with the New York City FC assistant coach Mehdi Ballouchy.
Messi appeared frustrated after the 2-2 draw with NYCFC and was seen exchanging words with referee Alexis Da Silva at full-time.
GettyMessi scored once during the game against Sporting KC[/caption]
After being repeatedly asked to walk away, Messi refused, leading to Da Silva showing him a yellow card.
As he left the pitch, Messi stopped to speak with Ballouchy and despite initially walking away from the conversation, he turned back and placed his hand on the back of Ballouchy’s neck, squeezing it firmly enough to elicit a surprised reaction from the coach.
Ballouchy did not respond but kept his eyes on Messi as he walked off, with the incident prompting a statement from MLS.
“The MLS Disciplinary Committee has fined Inter Miami CF forward Lionel Messi an undisclosed amount for violating the hands to the face/head/neck of an opponent policy following the conclusion of Inter Miami’s match against New York City FC on February 22,” the statement read.
Messi has scored two goals and assisted twice in MLS and Champions Cup so far this year.
He will look to build on a successful 2024 at Inter Miami when he registered 21 goals and 11 assists in the league.