Things got chirpy between Columbus Crew and Inter Miami after Lionel Messi‘s team lost to the black-and-yellow on Sunday, in a night where Messi recorded his 76th career free-kick goal. However, that didn’t deter Crew coach Laurent Courtois from slamming the Herons during the press conference.
Per reporter Michelle Kaufman, Courtois wasn’t happy with Inter Miami‘s complaining attitude towards the referee. “I would be red carded after five minutes against those guys [if I was playing]. It’s too much. What they do is bad for the game and it’s sad. The guys, they stayed focused, and we’ll focus on that,” Courtois said.
Inter Miami has plenty of Latin American players and they come from a different school of soccer. They are used to contact, plenty of ref-talk, and Courtois wasn’t having it, even if his team won the game against Lionel Messi.
Messi and Inter Miami are still in a dire situation
While Inter Miami’s spot on the table isn’t precisely bad, they haven’t been winning a lot lately. After appointing Kily Gonzalez as head coach, the fortunes haven’t turned around. However, Gonzalez was adamant on making clear the refereeing mistakes cost Inter Miami the game.
“There were very clear incidents on the pitch: the first moment involving Daniel was a handball, and before their second goal, there was a foul on Rodrigo (De Paul). As for the goal itself, it was valid, I just watched the replay. These things happen in football, and we have to accept them,” Gonzalez said.
Inter Miami’s spot in the standings
Inter Miami are now third in the Eastern Conference behind Nashville and New England. Also, Charlotte and Chicago are now both very close to Inter Miami, as they trail by three and four points, though Chicago has a game in hand.
While Inter Miami should have the talent and ability to turn things around, it’s time to make it count. After all, they just lost to Columbus, who are 12th and have lost almost double the games they’ve won.
Key takeaways
- Laurent Courtois slammed Inter Miami’s complaining attitude toward referees following a Columbus Crew victory.
- Coach Kily Gonzalez claimed refereeing mistakes cost Inter Miami during their recent match.
- Inter Miami sits third in the Eastern Conference standings behind Nashville and New England.
