Talk to coaches, players and executives across MLS and you’ll get varied sentiments for how referees should handle Lionel Messi’s presence on the field in America. MLSist on how the league's on-field officials will deal with the superstar:
When David Beckham touched down in Major League Soccer in 2007, he was the league’s highest-paid player, making 500 times the then-$12,900 minimum salary in a league where some players still worked part-time jobs to get by. He was glitz and glamor in a country where soccer had yet to go mainstream, a marketing machine who promised to propel a backwater league toward relevance.Baldomero Toledo, who called 300 matches as an MLS referee, remembers that well.
Any confusion was cleared up when Serioux leaned over Beckham and said, according to Becks himself, “Welcome, baby. Welcome.” The idea of Messi getting some sort of protection isn’t anything new. Opponents have long suggested that the Argentine is afforded protection by refs, or by the league he’s in. Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos and a bevy of others have suggested that Messi gets calls, or exerts undue influence over officials in matches he participates in.
Kelly, who retired from officiating MLS matches in 2021, is about as seasoned as they come, having refereed extensively in Europe prior to his arrival in the States in 2014. He has called UEFA Champions League matches, World Cup qualifiers, multiple MLS Cup finals, with many games involving truly legendary players.
MLS is a growing league and its referees are also continuing to develop. Some MLS referees are now regularly being called into action in FIFA’s biggest competitions. Four MLS officials worked the most recent men’s World Cup in Qatar, with PRO’s Ismail Elfath serving as the fourth official for the tournament’s final.
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