In the 40th minute of the match in round 17, when Inter Miami was losing 0-2, Messi was fouled by Montreal defender George Campbell. The Argentine star had to leave the field to receive medical attention, and Campbell received a yellow card.
Inter Miami received a free kick with a distance of about 25 meters, but Messi could not enter the field to take it because of MLS’s “Off-field medical care” rule. The 36-year-old striker shook his head in frustration, turned to the camera and said “We are doing a bad thing with this type of rule”.
According to the “Off-field medical care” law applied since April, if an injured player lies on the field for more than 15 seconds, the referee will stop the match and ask the medical team to enter the field. If able to continue playing, this player will have to leave the field and stay out for a minimum of two minutes for further assessment and treatment. This is to avoid players buying time.
There are exceptions to this rule, in the case of head injuries, injuries to the goalkeeper, serious medical conditions and fouls that result in yellow or red cards. In Messi ‘s case, if the Montreal player receives a yellow card, the two-minute off-field rule will not be in effect.
Martino is not satisfied and wants MLS to change the law. “In that situation, Messi was clearly fouled. The opposing player deserved a yellow card, which means Messi will never leave the field for two minutes,” he added. “As I understand it, the team that fouled will be punished. With these new rule changes, there are situations that must be corrected. The foul deserved a yellow card, but in the end we lost Messi in the game. two minutes”.
Inter Miami also experienced another new regulation of MLS in the second minute of injury time, when Luis Suarez could not leave the field for less than ten seconds when making way for Leo Campana. Suarez’s slow departure from the field forced the fourth referee to delay the substitution for one minute, leaving Inter Miami with only 10 people at the end of the match.
According to MLS, the timed substitution rule states that “failure to leave any point on the field within 10 seconds will result in a player entering the field having to wait an additional 60 seconds. During this time, that club will play missing one. Exceptions to this rule include injuries and goalkeeper substitutions.
Suarez complained to the fourth referee, but Martino said that the Uruguay striker misunderstood, did not understand the rules, and thought he had one minute to leave the field instead of 10 seconds.
In the free kick situation at the end of the first half, without Messi, midfielder Matias Rojas took a free kick, sending the ball spinning over the fence to the near corner, shortening the score to 1-2. After that, two other South American players, Suarez and Benjamin Cremaschi, scored to help the away team come back. This result helps Inter Miami consolidate the top of the MLS Eastern rankings with 27 points through 13 matches, three points more than Cincinnati. In the next match on Thursday morning, May 16, Hanoi time, Messi and his teammates will continue to be guests at Orlando City’s field, in the Florida state derby.
