Messi to Miss Next Two Miami MLS Matches with Ankle Injury

Lionel Messi will miss the Olympics but could feature at a sixth World Cup in 2026 © Patrick McDermott / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
Lionel Messi will miss the Olympics but could feature at a sixth World Cup in 2026 © Patrick McDermott / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
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Messi to Miss Next Two Miami MLS Matches with Ankle Injury

Lionel Messi will miss the Olympics but could feature at a sixth World Cup in 2026 © Patrick McDermott / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
Lionel Messi will miss the Olympics but could feature at a sixth World Cup in 2026 © Patrick McDermott / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP

Lionel Messi will miss Inter Miami's next two Major League Soccer matches after injuring his right ankle in Argentina's Copa America final triumph, Miami coach Gerardo Martino said Tuesday.

The 37-year-old Argentine star went down in the 64th minute of a 1-0 victory over Colombia, hobbling off the field with cameras showing a huge swollen ankle, AFP reported.

Messi is set to miss Inter Miami home matches on Wednesday against Toronto FC and on Saturday against the Chicago Fire.

"There will be further testing to determine the severity of the situation," Martino said. "He has to have more tests and wait for the results."

Messi, in an Instagram posting, was thankful for messages of concern and support he received after Sunday's match.

"I want is to thank everyone for the messages and greetings. I'm fine, thank God, and I hope I can soon be on the field again enjoying what I like to do most," Messi wrote.

With 14 wins and five draws from 23 matches, Inter Miami ranks second in MLS and the Eastern Conference on 47 points, one behind Cincinnati, which routed Miami 6-1 on July 6.

Inter Miami is set to begin defending the Leagues Cup title against MLS and Mexican league rivals next week.



Spain Players’ Euro 2024 Celebration Song Pushes Gibraltar Soccer Body to Weigh Complaint to UEFA

File: Spain’s Alvaro Morata holds the trophy as he celebrates with his teammates after winning the final match between Spain and England at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, July 14, 2024. Spain won 2-1. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
File: Spain’s Alvaro Morata holds the trophy as he celebrates with his teammates after winning the final match between Spain and England at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, July 14, 2024. Spain won 2-1. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
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Spain Players’ Euro 2024 Celebration Song Pushes Gibraltar Soccer Body to Weigh Complaint to UEFA

File: Spain’s Alvaro Morata holds the trophy as he celebrates with his teammates after winning the final match between Spain and England at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, July 14, 2024. Spain won 2-1. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
File: Spain’s Alvaro Morata holds the trophy as he celebrates with his teammates after winning the final match between Spain and England at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, July 14, 2024. Spain won 2-1. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

Gibraltar’s soccer federation said Tuesday it is taking legal advice about Spain players’ “extremely provocative and insulting” chants at a welcome home party for the European Championship title winner.

In Madrid on Monday evening, Spain captain Alvaro Morata and player of the tournament Rodri led thousands of fans singing “Gibraltar is Spanish.” It was at a celebration for the team’s 2-1 win over England in the Euro 2024 final on Sunday in Berlin, The aP reported.

Gibraltar, on the southern tip of Spain, has been a British overseas territory for more than 300 years with a population of about 35,000 people. Spain has maintained its sovereignty claim.

Gibraltar has been an independent member of European soccer body UEFA since 2013 and FIFA three years later but the diplomatic issue has meant its teams are separated from Spanish opponents in competition draws.

“Football has no place for behavior of this nature,” the Gibraltar federation said Tuesday in a statement, noting the “extremely provocative and insulting nature of the celebrations around the Spanish men’s national team winning Euro 2024.”

The federation said it is taking legal advice about a formal complaint to UEFA for “unacceptable chanting and songs.”

UEFA has clear jurisdiction over political statements and chants at stadiums of games it organizes, though the Spain players sang at a public square in Madrid.

Footage of the incident Monday showed Morata, who previously played in England for Chelsea, reminding long-time Manchester City star Rodri that he still plays in that country. Rodri reportedly replied “I don’t care.”