- Inter Miami were held to a third consecutive draw by Charlotte on Saturday
- Lionel Messi was unhappy after his side were not awarded a penalty at the end
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Lionel Messi was involved in a heated altercation with the referee following Inter Miami’s latest draw.
Miami were held to a 1-1 draw by Charlotte on Saturday night, their third consecutive stalemate.
Charlotte had taken the lead in the 56th minute through Karol Swiderski before Messi drew his side level with a superb finish 10 minutes later.
In the 12th minute of stoppage-time, Messi lofted the ball over six defenders and towards Jordi Alba, who headed the ball across to Luis Suarez.
However, the Uruguayan striker failed to score from just a few yards out, instead skying the ball over the bar before rolling on the ground in agony having collided with goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina.
Messi was left seething in the aftermath as he felt his team should have been awarded a penalty in the end. He approached the referee and according to ‘Ole’ via Mundo Deportivo, told him: ‘You’re a mean-spirited son of a b****.’
The former Barcelona and PSG forward escaped a sending off and was booked instead, even though the match had ended.
Prior to the incident, Charlotte had a goal ruled out for offside after Kerwin Vargas put the ball in the back of the net from close-range.
The forward went on to miss a glorious opportunity in the 96th minute, curling an effort wide of the post.
Messi’s rant comes just a week after he struggled in his first game at the Yankee Stadium.
Miami were also held to a 1-1 draw by New York City on that occasion, with James Sands scoring a 95th minute equaliser for the hosts.
Speaking to media post game, NYCFC head coach Nick Cushing addressed the crowd of 44,738 that came to see Messi play.
‘I hope they enjoyed the game,’ Cushing said. ‘I hope they see the level of the league is really exciting. Two teams both attacking each other. I was proud that we created chances in the game.
‘One thing I will say is, our support section and every New York City fan that came tonight pushed us to the end. They supported us through the game, they gave us life and energy.’
Despite three straight draws, Miami are close to winning the Supporters’ Shield, a title given to the team with the best regular-season record.
They remain top of the Eastern Conference and are eights points clear of second-placed Columbus Crew with three games left.
The top two will lock horns when Miami visit the Lowe.com Field on Wednesday evening (local time).
