New Delhi: CONCACAF has reprimanded referee Marco Antonio Ortiz Nava after he was spotted asking for Lionel Messi’s shirt after Inter Miami’s victory over Sporting Kansas City in the Concacaf Champions Cup at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City. Following the final whistle the referee was seen approaching Messi and seemingly asked for his jersey as a memento from the match.
While it was cleared out later that Ortiz Nava had requested an autograph for a family member with special needs, it was against the code of conduct for Concacaf officials. According to a statement to ESPN from a Concacaf spokesperson, it said that when investigated it was confirmed that a family member with special needs had asked for the autograph it wasn’t “aligned” with the code of conduct set by the confederation for the match officials.
After last nights game against Sporting KC, referee Marco Antonio Ortiz Nava asked Messi for his jersey to which Messi gave it to him.
Questionable behavior from an official.
Concacaf has said he approached Messi to ask for an autograph, “for a family member with special… pic.twitter.com/B4q5oVf1Fy
— Nutmeg Soccer (@NutmegSoccerCo) February 21, 2025
Further, the referee has already accepted and apologized for the mistake and has accepted the disciplinary action Concacaf has levied. Sporting City themselves had alerted Concacaf and MLS about the entire situation. The team stated that they were awaiting the review of the incident and the decision that Concacaf would take.
Inter Miami took a 1-0 win against Sporting in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup’s first leg with Messi scoring a a goal in the 56th minute of the game. The game was deferred by one day due to a winter storm that had forecasted snow with a depth of five to seven inches across Kansas.
While the city didn’t face snow, the players were still competing in free temperatures which led Inter Miami head coach Javier Mascherano to call the conditions “not human”. Mascherano has so far enjoyed a good start to his life at the Herons after replacing Gerardo Martino, who left last year ‘for personal reasons”. Inter Miami will now host Sporting KC at their home ground Chase Stadium in Florida on February 25th for the second leg.
Referee Marco Antonio Ortiz Nava was spotted asking for Lionel Messi’s shirt after Inter Miami’s win against Sporting Kansas, which goes against the code of conduct of CONCACAF. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
