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When a referee approached Lionel Messi after the final whistle of Wednesday’s Inter Miami-Sporting Kansas City game in Kansas, he wasn’t issuing Messi a belated yellow card.
He had a request.
Could the soccer legend gift him his jersey?
Mexican referee Marco Antonio Ortiz Nava asked Messi for his jersey after the game, and got his wish granted. Following the first round of the Concacaf Champions Cup, Messi gave the 36-year-old official his jersey after leaving the field and heading to the changing room.
Messi scored the lone goal in Inter Miami’s 1-0 win in a game amid frigid conditions with temperatures dropping as low as 3 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a statement to Front Office Sports, Concacaf said it learned that Ortiz Nava approached Messi to ask for an autograph “for a family member with special needs. The referee’s conduct does not align with the Confederation’s Code of Conduct for match officials and existing processes for these types of requests.”
The referee acknowledged his mistake, “apologized for the incident, and accepted the disciplinary action Concacaf has applied.” The group didn’t specify what disciplinary action was given.
Messi’s jersey is among the most sought-after in the world and his game-worn ones have fetched high prices at auction. A set of six jerseys Messi wore for Argentina in its 2022 World Cup title run, which the country won, sold for $7.8 million at a Sotheby’s auction in December 2023.
It’s not the first time an official has exhibited questionable professional behavior in exchange for a Messi jersey. In September, Carlos Chandìa, a former official from Chile, revealed he made a deal with Messi during a 2007 Copa America semi-final match against Mexico. Chandìa deliberately decided to not give Messi a yellow card after he committed a handball penalty, which would have prevented him from playing in the finals as Argentina was leading 3-0. Messi kept his end of the deal and gave Chandìa the jersey after the game .
Referees are supposed to officiate games fairly and without bias and Ortiz Nava’s ask displays a favoritism toward Messi, even if it was displayed after the match was over. Ortiz Nava could still officiate a game with Messi down the road and profiting off his jersey would also be unethical.
While the game was between two Major League Soccer teams, it was played as part of a Concacaf tournament with their own officials, giving the MLS no jurisdiction to intervene. It’s unclear if Ortiz Nava will be disciplined for his actions.
In 2009, the MLS investigated referee Jair Marrufo after he accepted a jersey from Chicago Fire star Cuauhtemoc Blanco in a match against the Columbus Crew he officiated, but ultimately kept his job.
Concacaf and Inter Miami did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
