Argentina’s captain Lionel Messi and Spanish defender Jordi Alba, who play for Inter Miami in the United States, have been suspended. As a result of this suspension, both players will miss one match for Miami in the American league. The American league suspended these two players for refusing to play in the All-Star team match organized by Major League Soccer. The league decided that there was no adequate reason for these players to decide not to play in the match.
However, Miami’s coach Javier Mascherano has expressed strong dissatisfaction with this decision. He said that playing in an All-Star team match is not a bad thing. However, he stated that it’s not good to play this match in a way that negatively affects teams’ preparations in the middle of the season. “Messi decided not to play in this match because he had some difficulties. When playing matches every three days, players can get injured. Fortunately, he’s still playing matches regularly. But because he had some injury concerns, he decided not to play in this match,” Mascherano said.
However, the league said that the players were suspended under a rule that states players cannot abstain from playing without a valid reason if selected for this match. Inter Miami said they strongly hope that this suspension will not hinder their efforts to have Messi sign a new contract with the club. Messi, now 39 years old, is currently playing in a way to avoid major injuries. This is because he wants to play in the World Cup to be held in the United States next year.
