Lionel Messi fined by MLS for grabbing opposition assistant manager's neck

The Argentine did manage to avoid any match ban following his behaviour.

Major League Soccer (MLS) has imposed penalties on Lionel Messi (an unknown sum) for snatching an assistant coach of New York City FC by the neck at the conclusion of their match on Saturday.

Following the final whistle, a conflict between the World Cup winner and NYC FC assistant coach Mehdi Ballouchy was captured on camera.

During the arguments, Messi placed his hands on Ballouchy’s neck twice. In a statement, MLS claimed that the Argentinean had been found to have broken the league’s disciplinary rules by its disciplinary committee: “Hands to the face/head/neck of an opponent policy.”

Messi seemed enraged with referee Alexis Da Silva before the altercation with Ballouchy. He reacted angrily after the final whistle and was given a yellow card for disagreement on his way back down the tunnel after the match.

In the 2-2 draw at Inter Miami’s Chase Stadium, Messi had put his teammate Telasco Segovia for an equalizer in stoppage time.

Tomás Avilés, a Miami defender, was sent off for preventing a goal earlier in the game after he pulled down NYC FC forward Alonso Martinez from behind while he closed in on the goalie. Earlier than that in the game, Avilés had netted Miami’s first goal, which was from another Messi assist.

For placing his hands on NYC FC defender Birk Risa’s neck after halftime, Messi’s teammate Luis Suárez was also fined similarly. However, both escaped any match bans and will only pay the fines. Any suspension would have affected the club’s performance in the next match.

The penalty caps off an eventful week for Lionel Messi and American referees. The confederation reprimanded the referee who officiated Inter Miami’s Concacaf Champions League opener against Sporting KC earlier this week for requesting the Argentinian’s shirt following the match.

In that match, which was played in snowy, single-digit temperature conditions in Kansas City, Messi scored the game-winning goal to help the team win 1-0. Both sides returned for the second leg game and Messi once again found the back of the net and led his side to a 4-1 win on aggregate.

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