Was MLS Right To Suspend Lionel Messi For Missing The All-Star Game?

Lionel Messi caused a stir in Major League Soccer this week when he failed to appear for the league’s annual All-Star game and was suspended for Inter Miami’s next league game as a result.

Messi and his Inter Miami teammate Jordi Alba were absent for the event, having originally been selected for the MLS All-Star team for a game to face off against counterparts from Mexico’s Liga MX.

In a press conference on Friday, Inter Miami co-owner Jorge Mas said the decision for Messi and Alba not to play in the All-Star exhibition match was made by the club.

This forced MLS to enforce its rule that any All-Star player who fails to participate in the game “without prior approval from the league” will be suspended for their team’s next match.

A statement from MLS, released on Friday evening, read: “Inter Miami CF’s Jordi Alba and Lionel Messi will be unavailable for the club’s match against FC Cincinnati on Saturday, July 26, due to their absence at this week’s Major League Soccer All-Star Game.

“Per league rules, any player who does not participate in the All-Star game without prior approval from the league is ineligible to compete in their club’s next match.”

The press conference from Jorge Mas came shortly after, and further stoked the fires of this debate around the All-Star game and Messi’s involvement, or lack of.

Was Messi Right To Miss The All-Star Game?

All-Star games are an American sporting tradition, but sometimes, in soccer, which brings sporting cultures from around the world to US shores, there is confusion around what the game is actually for, who it benefits, and if it is necessary.

This is especially the case now that the number of games players are being asked to play is regularly increasing due to participating in domestic football, international football, and the introduction of new, expanded tournaments like FIFA’s Club World Cup and the Leagues Cup in MLS and Liga MX.

Messi and Miami naturally prioritised the Club World Cup at that time, and MLS will have wanted him to, as the league hoped for a good showing on the international stage. Inter Miami delivered this by reaching the Club World Cup knockout stages.

The Club World Cup is a tournament unlike any other, so you could argue there should be a place for such a diverse, competitive global soccer festival in the calendar.

When it comes the the All-Star game, and indeed the Leagues Cup, they can feel like unnecessary additional games in the middle of the season.

Inter Miami have now prioritised an MLS regular season game, and everything that comes with that, over an All-Star exhibition.

What if Messi played in the All-Star game and got injured? That wouldn’t have been good for the league either.

Ultimately, you can understand why Inter Miami decided Messi and Alba should skip the game, but you can also understand why others in MLS will question why Miami at times appears to view itself and its players as above the rest of the league. But maybe it is also making some important points.

Should MLS Have Suspended Messi?

This is an easier one to answer. If the rule is in place, then it should be applied.

If anything, it was surprising that the decision to suspend Messi and Alba for the game against FC Cincinnati was made so late, which suggests there might have been some doubt that it would be applied, but eventually the right decision was made.

Messi is an obvious star of the league and of the sport in the United States, but shouldn’t be above it.

You can argue whether the rule should exist in the first place, but if it is there, it should be applied.

Messi has already been given special treatment by the league in that he has not been made as accessible to the media as other players are, but it is important that the league treat Messi the same way they would any other player in the interests of consistency and fairness.

What Will It Mean For The Supporters’ Shield

Inter Miami’s game against FC Cincinnati is an important game in the race for the 2025 Supporters’ Shield, which is awarded to the team that finishes top of the overall MLS standings at the end of the regular season.

Cincinnati currently sits top of the standings, and was helped by a recent 3-0 home victory against an Inter Miami team that did feature Messi when the teams met just over a week ago.

Inter Miami is playing catch-up following the Club World Cup and has several games in hand, and the schedule threw up an immediate chance to get revenge.

Cincinnati’s own star player, Evander, who did attend the All-Star event, was the standout player in that previous game and scored two of the goals in the 3-0 win.

He’ll be present, and Messi won’t, which means their stars’ no-show at the All-Star match puts Inter Miami at a disadvantage in this important regular-season game.

Messi’s absence from the All-Star game has certainly caused a stir and brought attention that the league might not otherwise have had at this time. Whether this kind of attention around something fairly trivial and very specific to US sports culture is good or bad for the MLS is up for debate.

It could be said that Messi and Miami made the right decision for him to miss the All-Star game, and the league made the right decision to suspend him as a result, but now that all of this has played out, maybe the whole idea of a mid-season All-Star game needs to be revisited.