Tata Martino rages against referee after seeing son sent off at Yankee Stadium

Inter Miami head coach Tata Martino called out match officials in the aftermath of a heated clash against New York City FC on Saturday afternoon.

The Herons were held to a draw after a 96th-minute leveller from James Sands cancelled out Leonardo Campana’s second half goal. The game was an irritable, disjointed affair with 11 yellow cards and one red dished out by referee Jon Freemon at Yankee Stadium.

Asked after the game what he thought was missing from Inter Miami during the match, Martino responded: “The team didn’t lack anything, but the match lacked a good referee.”

The red card was shown to Tata Martino Jr - the head coach’s son - who is a part of the Inter Miami backroom staff. He was shown two yellow cards in quick succession for protesting against an on-field decision.

He will be suspended for the upcoming visit of Charlotte FC, and he may have created more disciplinary problems for his father. Tata Martino Snr served a one-match touchline ban in the game against Atlanta United earlier this week, a punishment meted out by the league “due to technical staff caution accumulation” over the cause of the season.

As head coach, Martino can find himself in hot water if his backroom staff misbehave. It’s not the first time this season that disciplinary problems have arisen in Miami. Their CONCACAF Champions Cup tie against Monterrey resulted in a sanction for “lack of security” at Chase Stadium after a heated argument broke out in a hallway. In the aftermath Monterrey filed a formal complaint, alleging that Lionel Messi had initiated an altercation with coach Fernando ‘Tano’ Ortiz.