Lionel Messi escapes red card as rival coach left seething at "circus"

03 August 2023 , 20:57

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Orlando City manager Oscar Pareja was not happy with some refereeing decisions against Inter Miami (Image: Andrew Katsampes/ISI Photos/Getty Images)

Orlando City manager Oscar Pareja was left fuming after Lionel Messi helped Inter Miami claim a win in the Leagues Cup.

Wednesday night saw Messi and Co. line up against their Florida rivals in the Leagues Cup Round of 32 at the DRV PNK Stadium. Miami won 3-1 thanks to a brace from Messi who was supported by a penalty from Josef Martinez.

Messi opened the scoring in the seventh minute before Orlando got a goal back through Cesar Araujo 10 minutes later. Miami then restored its lead on a penalty from Martinez shortly after the half-time break, before Messi sealed the win in the 72nd minute with his fifth goal for this club in just his third appearance.

The victory for Miami takes Gerardo Martino’s team through to the Round of 16 in the competition. FC Dallas will be the opponents this time for Messi and the rest of the Miami roster, including Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.

While Miami and Messi will be celebrating reaching the next round, it’s contrasting emotions in the Orlando camp. Their manager, Pareja, was left unhappy with some of the refereeing decisions during the game.

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Messi was on a yellow card when he appeared to shoulder barge Araujo in a challenge that did not result in a second caution. And it’s this decision that was one of the first to irritate Pareja.

"Tonight was a circus," the Orlando boss told reporters after the game in his press conference.

"There was a second yellow on Messi [that wasn't given]. I don't care if he's Messi."

Lionel Messi scored two goals for Inter Miami in the Leagues Cup against Orlando City (Simon Bruty/Anychance/Getty Images)

Pareja was also unhappy with the awarding of Miami’s penalty, which resulted in the team’s second goal to give them the lead. Pareja questioned the use of VAR in the incident, particularly the referee's decision not to look at the pitchside monitor.

"The PK calls and others, they were ridiculous," Pareja said. "We were very frustrated and tried to regain our composure. There were some circumstances in this game that shouldn't happen.

Pareja added: "The attention that we get with all that is happening it becomes a circus, (this match) was a circus.

"The penalty was unbelievable. Unbelievable. If the VAR was there and we have referees then we have to be honest and go and see it because the game deserved it.”

Mark Wakefield