Referee punished after asking Messi for his shirt

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Referee punished after asking Messi for his shirt

Concacaf has disciplined referee, Marco Antonio Ortiz Nava, after he appeared to ask Inter Miami forward, Lionel Messi, for his shirt following their Champions Cup win over Sporting Kansas City on Wednesday night.

Nava approached Messi after the final whistle and seemed to request for his jersey.

The referee later claimed he was asking for an autograph for a relative with special needs.

However, his actions breached the code of conduct for Concacaf officials.

A statement made available to ESPN, read in part: “The referee’s conduct does not align with the Confederation’s Code of Conduct for match officials and existing processes for these types of requests.

“The referee has acknowledged his mistake, apologized for the incident, and accepted the disciplinary action Concacaf has applied.”

Concacaf is yet to confirm what the disciplinary action against the referee will entail.

Inter Miami won the game 1-0, thanks to a goal from Messi in the second half.