مدير عام كرة القدم
- Garber wouldn’t discuss potential suspension
- Commissioner did say rules are rules
- Pointed to Messi’s overall impact for MLS
AUSTIN, Texas – الدوري الأمريكي لكرة القدم Commissioner Don Garber declined to say whether Inter Miami stars Lionel Messi or Jordi Alba will be disciplined for their absence at this week’s MLS All-Star activities, but admitted the league should have been more proactive in confirming the players’ status ahead of its marquee summer event.
“Yeah, we should have known earlier. We should have addressed it earlier. No doubt about that,” Garber said in his midseason address prior to the All-Star Game.
MLS didn’t publicly announce that Messi and Alba would not play in the All-Star game until the roster was confirmed Wednesday morning, and offered no specifics behind the absences. Many of the other 28 MLS All-Stars had expressed their excitement to play with the eight-time Ballon D’Or winner.
But after the Argentine and his teammate Alba were absent for the second ASG training session, several players mentioned their surprise that the two were no-shows.
READ MORE: Messi’s ASG absence stained league – and MLS must clean it up
Garber stressed that MLS and Inter Miami are communicating as to why neither were available for Wednesday’s game, but he also pointed to Miami’s heavy schedule – playing nine matches in just more than a month – spread across the Club كأس العالم and MLS action.
“Miami has had a schedule that is unlike any other team,” Garber explained. “Most of our teams had a 10-day break. Miami hasn’t. We had Leo playing 90 minutes in almost all the games that he’s played.”
The Herons did have a 14-day break prior to their participation at the Club World Cup, with their last MLS match ahead of the competition on May 31. Miami then opened the Club World Cup on June 14.
By comparison, the Seattle Sounders – one of the two other MLS teams in the tournament – had just seven days off prior to the Club World Cup. LAFC had eight days between competitions.
Garber noted that Messi and Alba did not participate in recent practices, alluding to a potential injury for Alba. Miami is set to return to MLS action against FC Cincinnati on Saturday.
“We have to manage that as a league, but at the same time we do have rules and we have to manage that as well,” Garber said. “So we would have loved to have Leo here. We love to have every player that was selected for the All-Star team here. And after this All-Star game, we’ll figure out what needs to happen this weekend.
“I was told this morning that neither Jordi nor Messi practiced today. So Jordi came up with an injury in the last game, and we’ll have to manage through what Miami is going to say about that.”
Garber pointed to Messi’s immense social media following as a significant boost to MLS. He also compared the forward’s impact on the league that of David Beckham – one of the owners of Inter Miami now – during his time in the league.
“MLS wouldn’t be what it is today without David Beckham, but MLS wouldn’t be what it is today without Leo Messi,” he said. “I don’t think any of us realized what impact this player would have on our league, on our global exposure, on our credibility, on creating the thrills and and just unique experiences that he’s done over just the last couple of weeks – scoring multiple goals in multiple games, playing 90 minutes over the last four or five games and not wanting to come out of the game.
“He’s an incredible competitor, and he’s performing at a really high level. So we are perceived very differently globally because Leo Messi is in our league. But we are very different from the way the world thought of us because David Beckham not only played in our league, but also because he’s built a team that is globally popular.”
Messi currently has 18 goals and nine assists in 18 MLS matches.
It’s unclear if either Messi or Alba will face suspension for this weekend’s game against FC Cincinnati.
