Former Paris Saint-Germain star Lionel Messi and Inter Miami are at the center of a referee controversy. However, none of it is his fault. The referee assigned to the Inter Miami-Orlando City contest had a conflict of interest.
The Professional Referee Organization (PRO) has released the referee assignments for Saturday’s Inter Miami and Orlando City game. Originally, Guiherme Ceretta was going to serve as the center referee. Nonetheless, PRO has made a change and replaced Ceretta with Jamie Herrera, as indicated in PRO’s official assignment list.
What was the cause behind the change? According to The Athletic, it was revealed on social media that Ceretta had numerous photos of himself wearing an Inter Miami kit, prompting the decision.
Herrera was initially the fourth official for the match. However, Ivan Cid Cruz has now taken on that role. Herrera stepped in to replace Ceretta shortly after the photos were shared on social media.
“Referee Guiherme Ceretta was removed from the game due to a potential conflict,” PRO said in a statement to The Athletic.
PRO and the Professional Soccer Referees Association (PSRA) are currently in disagreement during negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement. As a result, all referees are serving as “replacement refs” and are not affiliated with the PSRA or the usual MLS referees.
