Another sanction for an Inter Miami player. Ian Fray, the homegrown player of The Herons who became the player with the most appearances in club history, was fined by MLS after his comments following the loss against Orlando City in the most recent matchday, where they were defeated and showed a lot of frustration toward the referees, even from Lionel Messi.
Through an official statement, MLS announced that the 23-year-old defender was fined. “Major League Soccer announced today that Inter Miami CF defender Ian Fray has been fined an undisclosed amount for his comments made following Inter Miami’s match against Orlando City SC on May 2. The comments violated the league’s public criticism policy.”
At the end of the match, Ian Fray said to the media: “I feel like the referee has something against me and some other players on the team; they are just simple situations like that. We should not have lost regardless of the referee. That is not an excuse. I am not going to make any excuses at all. We should have won the game,” which led to the financial sanction.
The tough match Inter Miami let slip
With a goal from Ian Fray, Inter Miami opened the scoring and then, with goals from Telasco Segovia and a fantastic finish from Lionel Messi, they built a three-goal lead to win the Florida Derby.
Lionel Messi of Inter Miami
However, a performance from Martin Ojeda with a hat trick and another goal from Tyrese Spicer gave Orlando City the three points in the Florida Derby, delivering a tough blow to Guillermo Hoyos side, who still had not won at NU Stadium, their new home.
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Messi message after the loss
The frustration was not only visible in Messi‘s expression, but also in his reaction in the locker room with a strong message. After the final whistle, the Argentine went straight to the tunnel, avoiding contact with the media and showing his dissatisfaction. Shortly after, his teammate Ian Fray spoke to the media and shared the message that the former Barcelona player delivered to the squad in the locker room:
“Our captain spoke and, obviously, gave us a lot of words, first encouraging us for the next match and then saying that this is unacceptable, which we all completely agree with. It is unacceptable and it will not happen again,” the player said about the message from the Inter Miami captain.
Inter Miami currently sit in third place and prepared to visit Toronto on Saturday, May 9, a matchup considered key to regain confidence and show if Messi’s message translates into improvement on the field.
