Inter Miami stepped to the field without Lionel Messi earlier tonight with the side forced to settle on a goalless draw against Orlando City. Despite the outcome, fans were still struck by the team’s previous clash against Montreal, which saw Lionel Messi speak out against MLS’ injury rules. According to the rules, if a player takes more than 15 seconds on the sidelines for treatment, they can only return after two minutes, forcing the team to play with 10 men for the time.

Messi didn’t seem too fond of the rule with the Argentine expressing his displeasure in front of a camera on live TV. With fans still discussing La Pulga’s outburst, his fellow teammate Julian Gressel has provided his take on the situation. Gressel while talking on his Player Manager podcast talked about the rule claiming MLS needs to bring discrepancies to the rule.

Gressel stated, “It was a clear foul where everybody thought they should be given a yellow card. It feels like you got punished because you got hurt. There needs to be some sort of discrepancy in my opinion; is the guy injured, he needs treatment or he’s faking it? Like we are down 2-0, why would he waste the time at that moment.”

The Miami star added, “After we scored a goal we had to play with a man down for 2 minutes. 2 minutes is long if you are a man down. It’s what the rule is but Messi got genuinely hurt and it’s a black and white rule but there’s nothing we can do.”

Lionel Messi was not the only player who had an outburst against the rules against Montreal. The game’s closing minutes saw Luis Suarez get into a heated discussion with the fourth official over his substitution.

Luis Suarez argues with officials after Lionel Messi slams MLS on live TV

El Pistolero had a fine day against Montreal with the striker providing his team with the leveller in the first half. However, the player’s night turned sour after he got into a heated exchange with the fourth official over his substitution in the final minutes. Suarez who was subbed off in the 92nd minute took more than the set 10 seconds to get off the field, which saw the official hold Leonardo Campana on the sidelines for an additional minute.

Suarez was unhappy with the decision as he exchanged a few words with the official before being pulled away by Miami’s support staff. The player wasn’t excited about what went down as he was seen kicking a bottle in the team’s dugout in frustration. However, it seems like the player calmed down after the game as he was seen shaking hands with the match referees with a smile on his face.