Lionel Messi may have avoided a disciplinary sanction from Major League Soccer, but he did not escape renewed scrutiny over a growing pattern.
Messi made headlines during MLS’s season-opening weekend not for his attacking brilliance, but for heated post-match scenes that marked his latest run-in with North American referees.
The Inter Miami captain gave match officials an earful in the tunnel after his team’s 3–0 road loss to Son Heung-Min and LAFC in front of a record crowd of more than 75,000 fans, with multiple videos capturing the confrontation as it unfolded. The images went viral.
Messi continues to take issue with MLS officiating
Messi initially walked alongside the referees while seemingly sounding off over calls that did not go in his favor in the ugly defeat at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The Argentine then tried following the officiating crew towards its locker room even as teammate Luis Suarez attempted to restrain him.
The footage brought into question whether Messi had broken the league's rule of not entering the referee locker room, one that came into focus in 2023 when veteran American center-back Matt Miazga was banned three matches during FC Cincinnati's play-off run for violating the protocol.
Lionel Messi salió molesto con el arbitraje tras la goleada de LAFC 3-0 ante Inter de Miami. #messi #intermiami pic.twitter.com/NiOlzYVKrWFebruary 22, 2026
Major League Soccer quickly investigated the Messi incident this past weekend, ruling in less than a day that the 38-year-old superstar had not entered the referee locker room. MLS determined that Messi briefly walked into a corridor leading towards the dressing area without ever entering the actual room, a distinction that proved decisive.
While Messi did not enter an unauthorized area as Miazga did, Saturday’s widely-debated episode reignited questions about where the line is drawn between routine protests and punishable conduct.
More notably, it marked another visible clash between Messi — a player long known for keeping a low profile — and MLS officials.
Messi's frustrations with the league's refereeing have surfaced in an increasingly public manner over the past year, beginning with Inter Miami's 2025 season opener last February.
After a 2-2 home draw with New York City FC that included an early red card for the South Florida side, an irate Messi was booked for dissent after confronting official Alexis Da Silva. Argentine outlet TyC Sports reported that Messi said to Da Silva, "You're a coward!"
Three months later, Messi took issue with referee Joe Dickerson following a 3-3 road draw with the San Jose Earthquakes. The agitated MLS MVP was again given a post-game yellow card for dissent, with Dickerson even appearing to threaten a red after Messi's initial refusal to walk away.
😳 “Walk away now!”Head ref Joe Dickerson — reaching for his back pocket — threatened Leo Messi with a red card if Inter Miami’s captain did not stop jawing at him.Messi earned a yellow earlier in the tense post-game exchange.#InterMiamiCF #Messi𓃵pic.twitter.com/54QOrKCfkuMay 15, 2025
It took four days for Messi to have another refereeing row, as he took to the broadcast microphone in the aftermath of a 3-0 home loss to rival Orlando City in part to vent about a controversial no-call from match official Guido Gonzales Jr.
“It is not an excuse, but something always happens with the referees on certain key plays," Messi told Apple TV last May. "I think MLS should take a closer look at its officiating.”
Individually, these moments could be dismissed as heat-of-the-moment reactions from one of the beautiful game's fiercest competitors. After all, confrontations with officials are hardly unique to Messi or Major League Soccer.
Taken together, however, they form a recurring pattern that is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. The absence of formal league sanctions also does little to dispel the perception from some opposing fans that MLS's marquee star operates, at times, under a different standard.
Whether that view is fair or not, these incidents are not one-offs. They are recurring moments that are increasingly shaping the conversation around Messi’s stint in the United States.
For a player who typically makes headlines for his brilliance on the ball, that represents an unintended and avoidable subplot.
