Monterrey assistant explains Lionel Messi confrontation: has the Inter Miami star ever been sent off?

Monterrey secured a vital CONCACAF Champions Cup victory over Inter Miami at Chase Park on Thursday, defeating the MLS side 2-1 to take control of the quarter-final tie. However, the match was overshadowed somewhat by Lionel Messi and Gerardo “Tata” Martino getting involved in a heated exchange with Rayados players coaching staff at full-time, which has prompted the Liga MX side to file a formal complaint to CONCACAF.

What happened between Monterrey assistant Nico Sánchez and Lionel Messi?

Nico Sánchez, assistant to Monterrey coach Fernando Ortiz, claimed he came face to face with the former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain star in the tunnel but stopped short of getting into a fight. “If Messi wanted to fight me...I don’t think he would have wanted to hit me because if he did, he would have actually hit me. I was a centimetre away, he put his fist on the side of my face. I think he was looking for a reaction more than to hit me”, Sánchez began.

“At half-time, Messi went down to the locker room and I saw him but I couldn’t speak to him. In any case, it was half time. When the game ended, we went down to the locker room, we were there before our players and the Inter Miami players. To make matters worse, the two locker rooms are directly opposite one another, so our paths were going to cross no matter what. When I got to the door, I saw Messi, who was three metres away from me. There was also a security guard was and another person, an Argentine, who must work at Inter. I don’t know what he does but he is always with Messi,” he explained.

“Furious” Messi and Martino “out of order”

“I politely approached Messi for a photo but the security guard stopped me, but in a pleasant manner. I think Messi was furious, the referees came through and of course he confronted them and said all kinds of things to the four of them, and them to him. And “Tata” Martino was next to him. They were both totally out of order. If we’d done that, we’d get kicked out,” Sánchez continued.

“The atmosphere was tense, then “Tata” starts talking. I don’t remember exactly what he said, but it was something along the lines of ‘there are 90 minutes left, we are still alive...’. I don’t know, something like that said. I was calm, I never got angry. There were people from Concacaf there, I looked at him and said, ‘If we did this, they would kick us all out.’ ‘Tata’ Martino started saying all sorts and then Messi reappeared, I thought he had left. Messi reappeared and it was like he wanted to eat me alive”.

How many times has Messi been sent off in his career?

The incident, of course, took place after a match in which Messi didn’t even play, with The Herons deciding not to risk him after recent fitness issues. Although the eight-time Ballon d’Or is more known for his goals and assists, he has got somewhat hot under the collar on a few occasions, which has led to him being shown three red cards during his career.

The Argentina captain was incredibly sent off on his national team debut in a friendly against Hungary in August 2005, directing an elbow at opposition player Vilmos Vanczák, who had pulled his shirt.

Messi then went almost 14 years with receiving a red card, with his second also coming in an Argentina shirt. Both he and Chile’s Gary Medel were dismissed after a physical and verbal confrontation during the 2019 Copa América third-place playoff.

He then saw the first - and only - red card of his club career in January 2021, clipping Athletic Club’s Asier Villalibre around the head after he had got in his way towards the end of Barcelona’s Spanish Super Cup final defeat to the Basque team.