Messi & Co set to kick-off MLS season amid referees dispute

LOS ANGELES: Messi fanfare returns to Major League Soccer as Lionel Messi embarks on his first full season with Inter Miami.

But this year, there’s a twist.

Inter Miami signed Luis Suarez in the offseason, reuniting the two close friends. The pair, along with former Barcelona teammates Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets, has made Miami THE team to watch heading into the Major League Soccer’s 29th season.

“Inter Miami offered me a nice opportunity to dream of winning the club’s first MLS title, to play with big players, who everybody knows, and adapt to my new team and club,” Suarez said. “I am motivated by that challenge.” But with Messi, Suarez and the rest of Inter Miami set to open the season at home on Wednesday against Real Salt Lake.

Messi helped Miami to a trophy in the first season of the Leagues Cup tournament with Liga MX. But he couldn’t quite make enough difference to push the team into the playoffs after Miami’s slow start. Miami finished 9-18-7 last season, in 14th place in the Eastern Conference.

While Suarez is 37 and his knees are giving him more trouble, he still had 27 goals and 17 assists with Brazilian club Gremio last season. He’ll play with Messi, Alba and Busquets for the first time since all four were with Barcelona in the 2019-20 season.

MLS referees stand down

MLS is in the middle of a labour dispute with its referees ahead of the league kick-off. The Professional Referees Organisation (PRO), which manages MLS referees, announced saturday that it will lock out match officials after they rejected a proposed collective bargaining agreement just days before the start of the season.

PRO said it had reached a tentative agreement last weekend with the Professional Soccer Referees Association. But the union said nearly 96% of its members voted to reject it.

That means there will likely be replacement refs officiating matches for the foreseeable future.

MESSI MANIA

MLS Commissioner Don Garber outlined some of the league’s successes in an interview last week with The Associated Press.

Season ticket sales are up 15% this season over the same time last year, overall league sponsorship revenue is up 17% while club revenue is up 15%, and merchandise sales are up 44% over this time last year. Is that the “Messi Effect?” Absolutely. It’s a sign that MLS is becoming a destination league.