Lionel Messi unleashes at referee after Inter Miami frustration

The aftermath of the Inter Miami vs San Jose Earthquakes clash was not for the faint-hearted. The game itself was a tense affair, but it was the post-match antics that saw tensions flare between football legend Lionel Messi and referee Joe Dickerson. In a desperate bid to secure a win, Inter Miami faced off against the San Jose Earthquakes at PayPal Park.

Falcón opened the scoring in the very first minute, but San Jose responded strongly, netting three goals in the first half while conceding one more, taking a 3-2 lead into the break. Inter Miami equalized in the 52nd minute to make it 3-3. After a six-goal thriller in the first 60 minutes, the final 30 saw no further action, and both teams were forced to share the spoils.

After the final whistle, Lionel Messi confronted referee Joe Dickerson over a controversial decision in the 93rd minute. The referee had refused to award a free kick after a crunching tackle from Daniel Munie sent Messi to the ground. Tensions flared, and Dickerson initially appeared to show Messi a yellow card. However, the San Jose Earthquakes manager intervened, stepping in to defuse the situation and ultimately preventing Messi from being booked.

In his post-game interview, Arena opened up about the incident, saying that Lionel Messi was not happy about the decision and his role was not to allow the referee to brandish a red card. Arena also opined that getting a red card after the final whistle is ridiculous. Bruce Arena said: 

"[Messi] was obviously not happy and I wanted to make sure really he wasn't going to get a red card and that's why I just tried to move him out of the way because for him to get a red card at the end of the game would've been ridiculous

How are Inter Miami placed in the league? Who are they playing next? 

In the Eastern Conference, Inter Miami are placed third on the points table after 12 games with 22 points and are well on their way for automatic qualification. They will play Orlando City in their next game in MLS.