“We have rules” – in the middle of the risk of Lionel Messi faced with a ban on a match to jump the game of the stars, Commissioner MLS comments on his absence

The MLS commissioner, Don Garber, recently opened on the non-presentation of Lionel Messi in this year’s stars match. Inter Miami Captain did not honor the invitation to the list of stars, leading to talking about a possible ban on an MLS match.

The MLS boss took the floor in his mid-season speech before the match in Austin, stressing that the Miami calendar was packaged and that they should be attentive to the situation of Messi and Jordi Alba. He has not explicitly declared if the pair would be punished for their absence.

“The Miami calendar is unlike any other – most of the teams have had a 10 -day break, they did not do it. Messi played 90 minutes almost all matches. We would be delighted to have him here, but he and Jordi did not train today. Alba has injured, and we’ll see what Miami says.

Now 38 years old, Lionel Messi played five full games in the MLS this month, as well as four full games in the FIFA club World Cup last month. He suffered an injury during the FIFA event in June and played through pain, coach Javier Mascherano repeatedly stressed his need for rest.

Messi and Alba joined the team for none of their training sessions and did not appear for the star match. The pair of former Barcelona stars did not formed with Inter Miami also on Wednesday, indicating a lack of physical form.

The MLS rules stipulate a ban on a match for players who fail to appear for the star game, and Messi and Inter Miami would be aware.

Lionel Messi-UNST MLS ALL-STARS BATS LIGA MX counterparts

The absence of Lionel Messi from the MLS stars list was not a problem because Nico Estevez’s team won a 3-1 victory against the team of Liga MX stars. The MLS team also won the skills challenge one day earlier in a dominant stars projection.

MLS Joint-Scoreer Sam Surridge opened the scoring in the 28th minute before Tai Baribo left the bench to add a second after 51 minutes. The Mexican feeling of sixteen, Gilberto Mora, withdrew one for the Liga MX team in the 64th minute before Brian White finished the MLS team.

The MLS team lost against the Liga MX team in 2024 and against Arsenal in 2023 before winning in front of a closed window in Texas. The MLS announced that 20,738 tickets had been sold for the match despite the absence of Messi and Jordi Alba.