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Entertainment

Fans joke that the Leagues Cup is rigged for Messi and Inter Miami after questionable calls

Inter Miami and Lionel Messi advanced to the Leagues Cup Round of 16 on Tuesday after defeating Orlando City 3-1 at DRV PNK Stadium. Messi scored twice in the victory, but that’s not the big discussion this time.

Some fans are questioning calls from the referee and joking that the tournament is rigged for Messi and Miami.

The two major incidents that raised eyebrows were a soft penalty call in Miami’s favor in the second half and the lack of a foul called against Messi.

Let’s start with the no-call on Messi. This sequence is a little suspicious if I do say so myself. It starts with the Argentine bodying Orlando’s César Araújo. The ball was long gone and still Messi dumped him to the grass.

When Araújo tracked back to take the ball off Messi he had a foul called on him for…. what exactly?

Now onto the penalty call. It’s not pretty.

This one didn’t involve Messi as Josef Martinez went down in the box during the second half with the game tied 1-1. The penalty call left plenty of people scratching their heads including the person in charge of Orlando City’s Twitter account. Martinez would convert the penalty kick to put Miami up 2-1.

It's worth mentioning that the referee gave Messi a yellow card in the 21st minute for a reckless foul. Not 100% rigged then!

There also can’t be too many complaints about Messi’s goals. These look clear of any rigging allegations.

Up next for Inter Miami is a battle at Toyota Stadium against FC Dallas on Sunday, Aug. 6. Messi has fared well in Miami, but can he do it on an ungodly hot evening in Frisco, Texas?

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