Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber refused to be drawn on whether the league planned to sanction Lionel Messi after the Inter Miami and Argentina superstar was a late withdrawal from Wednesday’s All-Star game. Messi and Miami teammate Jordi Alba had both been due to start in Wednesday’s showpiece in Austin, where a combined MLS XI defeated a team representing Mexico’s Liga-MX 3-1.
However, news broke early Wednesday that Miami had informed MLS neither player would feature in the game, for reasons that were not immediately clear. The 11th-hour snub has left Messi and Alba facing a one-game suspension from MLS. Under league rules, players selected for the All-Star game must participate unless they have a valid reason — such as an injury — not to do so.
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Garber, however, was tight-lipped on a possible sanction for Messi following his controversial no-show, declining to say if the league would go ahead and issue a ban against its biggest star, who could now miss Miami’s game against FC Cincinnati this weekend. “Anything that’s going to happen as relates to next weekend, we’re not going to talk about today,” Garber told reporters ahead of Wednesday’s match. “The game is not until this coming weekend and we don’t need to answer that. We’re managing through this process as we speak.”
While Messi, 38, showed no sign of injury while scoring twice in Miami’s win over the New York Red Bulls last weekend, Garber did note that the Argentinian star has recently completed a punishing schedule of games. Messi has played nine games in 35 days — four in the Club World Cup and five in domestic competitions — and played 90 minutes in each game. “Miami’s had a schedule that is unlike any other team,” Garber said. “Most of our teams had a 10-day break. Miami hasn’t. So we have to manage through that as a league.”
But Garber added: “At the same time, we do have rules. And we have to manage that as well. So we would have loved to have Leo here and to have every player that was selected here.” Garber said the league should have been made aware earlier that Messi planned to skip Wednesday’s game. “We should have known earlier,” Garber added. “We should have addressed it earlier. No doubt about that.”
Messi and Alba’s participation in the All-Star game had been under a cloud after Miami coach Javier Mascherano indicated at the weekend he wanted Messi and Alba to rest. “The players are called up. I’d prefer they rest, but it’s not my decision,” Mascherano said. “I know how important the All-Star Game is, and as far as I know, there’s no decision from the club — everything continues as normal.”
Messi joined MLS in 2023, just months after leading Argentina to victory in the 2022 World Cup. The eight-time Ballon D’Or winner has had a transformative impact on the league since his arrival, boosting the global profile of MLS and sending ticket sales skyrocketing. Asked at the end of Wednesday’s press conference whether former England and Los Angeles Galaxy star David Beckham remained the most impactful player in the league’s history, Garber replied: “MLS wouldn’t be what it is today without David Beckham, but MLS wouldn’t be what it is today without Leo Messi either.”
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