Lionel Messi divides fans by 'cheating' before scoring a free kick for Inter Miami, as new footage shows him moving the angle of the ball with the ref's back turned
- 9 months ago
A new clip of Lionel Messi cheekily adjusting the angle of a free kick before scoring has divided fans.
Messi sent Inter Miami and FC Dallas to penalties in the Leagues Cup on Sunday night with an 85th-minute equalizer, with Miami completing its comeback by winning 5-3 on spot kicks.
And new footage of the goal shows Messi inching the ball closer to the center of the goal while the referee had his back turned and was dealing with the wall.
While Messi's adjustments were minor, the clip shows he changed the spot of the ball on five different occasions before scoring his seventh goal in an Inter Miami shirt.
Fans had mixed opinions on the star's actions.
'looking for an edge' is the new way to refer to cheating, lol,' one fan said, referring to a tweet that shared the clip.
'And yes, I know that many others do the same.... and yes, I think they all cheat (because it's against the rules).
Another fan echoed that sentiment.
'That is pure cheating,' they said. 'He was only able to do that because the referee wasn't looking.
A different fan agreed that Messi's actions amounted to cheating - but defended them nonetheless.
'If you ain't cheating you ain't trying,' they claimed.
And some didn't think the incident constituted cheating at all.
'The number of people saying cheating,' one wrote with laughing-crying emojis.
'The ref never sprayed the foam, Messi just took advantage of the situation lol.'
Another said, 'This has been happening since the invention of the game. Every single player does it.'
Cheating or not, Messi has Miami in the Leagues Cup Round of 16 - with the club's run in the tournament pushing back his MLS debut.
Messi sent Inter Miami and FC Dallas to penalties in the Leagues Cup on Sunday night with an 85th-minute equalizer, with Miami completing its comeback by winning 5-3 on spot kicks.
And new footage of the goal shows Messi inching the ball closer to the center of the goal while the referee had his back turned and was dealing with the wall.
While Messi's adjustments were minor, the clip shows he changed the spot of the ball on five different occasions before scoring his seventh goal in an Inter Miami shirt.
Fans had mixed opinions on the star's actions.
'looking for an edge' is the new way to refer to cheating, lol,' one fan said, referring to a tweet that shared the clip.
'And yes, I know that many others do the same.... and yes, I think they all cheat (because it's against the rules).
Another fan echoed that sentiment.
'That is pure cheating,' they said. 'He was only able to do that because the referee wasn't looking.
A different fan agreed that Messi's actions amounted to cheating - but defended them nonetheless.
'If you ain't cheating you ain't trying,' they claimed.
And some didn't think the incident constituted cheating at all.
'The number of people saying cheating,' one wrote with laughing-crying emojis.
'The ref never sprayed the foam, Messi just took advantage of the situation lol.'
Another said, 'This has been happening since the invention of the game. Every single player does it.'
Cheating or not, Messi has Miami in the Leagues Cup Round of 16 - with the club's run in the tournament pushing back his MLS debut.