Major League Soccer handed Inter Miami superstar Lionel Messi a fine for an “undisclosed amount” for his part in an altercation with New York City FC assistant coach Mehdi Ballouchy at the end of Saturday’s 2-2 draw.
Messi grabbed the back of Ballouchy’s neck during a post-match interaction that shocked the NYCFC assistant and caused him to jerk forward before the soccer legend finally walked off the field.
In an announcement, the MLS Disciplinary Committee said Messi was fined for “violating the hands to the face/head/neck of an opponent policy” following the final whistle of Saturday’s season opener at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Messi had also gotten into a verbal argument with head referee Alexis Da Silva right 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 be told to back up as he yelled at Da Silva.
On Monday, Inter Miami head coach Javier Mascherano attempted to downplay the incident by blaming the media for creating a “circus.”
“I don’t have too many things to say,” Mascherano said. “It’s difficult when you’re on the pitch and sometimes you think things aren’t in the right way because you can see some mistakes from the referee. But in the end in football, to understand the players and the emotions of the player you have to be inside the pitch. … It’s difficult sometimes to control the emotions.
“I think the press sometimes wants to whip up a circus about it. That happens in every game that you can discuss with the referee, with some opposite players. It’s important – what we say in Argentina – we say, the things that happen [on] the pitch stay [on] the pitch.”
Both an MLS spokesperson and an NYCFC rep declined to comment on the incident when reached by The Post on Monday.
Along with Messi, Inter Miami forward Luis Suárez was also fined an undisclosed amount “for violating the hands to the face/head/neck of an opponent policy” when he put his hand on the neck of NYCFC defender Birk Risa at halftime.
