"Can’t wait for Messi to leave MLS", "The league is clearly rigged for him" - Fans blast Lionel Messi's Inter Miami despite 2-1 win over Atlanta
Rival fans on X have criticized Lionel Messi's Inter Miami and the MLS match officials following a massive penalty decision during the Herons' 2-1 win over Atlanta United. The two sides faced each other at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday, March 16.
Emmanuel Latte Lath headed home in the 11th minute to break the deadlock for Atlanta. However, Lionel Messi leveled the scores nine minutes later with a delicate close-range chip over Brad Guzan.
Inter Miami appeared to be on the back foot in the second half and were fortunate not to concede a penalty after Aleksei Miranchuk's corner was blocked by Federico Redondo's arm. The referee opted not to award a penalty, letting play continue in the process. The Herons took full advantage a minute later, with second-half substitute Fafa Picault heading the ball into the bottom-left corner to seal a late win for his side (89').
Fans were unimpressed by the officiating with one posting:
"Can’t wait for Messi to leave MLS the league is clearly rigged for him."
Another fan tweeted:
"Clear robbery. shameful."
Other fans reacted below:
"MIAMI IS THE MOST CORRUPT CLUB IN MLS HISTORY. CLEAR penalty for Atlanta, not given or checked, then Miami proceed to score from a corner. Dumba** league," one fan commented.
"Offsides and handballs don’t apply to Miami," another added.
"Rig it some more!" one fan insisted.
"VAR official is man of the match for ignoring a clear handball in the box," another declared.
"I like how they only show us one replay of the handball in the box by Miami (and they call it not clear and obvious), but for everything else, they have 10 different angles," one fan tweeted.
Lionel Messi named Icon of the Match following Inter Miami's 2-1 win over Atlanta United
Lionel Messi received his first Icon of the Match award after he inspired Inter Miami to a hard-fought 2-1 win over Atlanta United. The Herons are at the summit of the MLS Eastern Conference standings with 10 points from four games.
Messi received a match-high rating of 8.6, per FotMob. The Argentine icon completed 44 passes from an attempted 50 (88 percent accuracy), created one chance, and landed five shots on target from seven attempts, scoring one brilliant goal. He also won seven duels and completed three dribbles from an attempted five.
Lionel Messi and Inter Miami will next be in action against Philadelphia on Saturday, March 29.
