CONCACAF referee Marco Antonio Ortiz Nava was disciplined by the federation after seemingly asking Inter Miami star Lionel Messi for his jersey following Wednesday night’s 1-0 Miami win over Sporting Kansas City in the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
In a statement released on Thursday, CONCACAF said that Ortiz Nava, the Mexican center official for the game, “approached the player to request an autograph for a family member with special needs.”
The statement continued that Ortiz Nava’s conduct, “does not align with the Confederation’s code of conduct for match officials and existing processes for these types of requests.”
According to ESPN, Messi did give Ortiz Nava his jersey after the match. Messi scored in the game, which was played at temperatures that hovered around zero degrees with subzero windchills. Messi played all 90 minutes and scored the winner in the 56th minute on an assist from Sergio Busquets.
CONCACAF’s statement said that Ortiz Nava “acknowledged his mistake, apologized for the incident, and accepted the disciplinary action CONCACAF has applied.”
The statement did not detail any punishment for the 36-year-old referee.
Ortiz Nava has refereed at least one previous Inter Miami game, a CONCACAF Champions Cup game against Nashville last season.
Inter Miami and Messi will open the 2025 MLS season on Saturday at home against NYCFC before facing Kansas City in the second leg of the Champions Cup tie on Tuesday.
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