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Why Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba could face suspension for missing MLS All-Star Game

Written by CBS SPORTS ALL RIGHTS RESERVED on July 24, 2025

With the MLS All-Star game happening on Wednesday night in Austin, Texas, there’s been a shake-up to the roster with Inter Miami stars Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba withdrawing from the squad. The duo won’t feature facing the Liga MX All-Stars despite being voted onto the roster and likely being expected to start the match. The reason for them not being included hasn’t been given, but they could face a one-game suspension per league policy.

Messi missed the MLS All-Star game last season due to injury, but per league policy, any player who misses the affair without a confirmed injury could be subjected to a one-match suspension. If suspended, this would cause Messi and Alba to miss Miami’s upcoming match facing FC Cincinnati at home on Saturday.

Already losing their last match to Cincinnati 3-0 on July 16, the Herons will need a victory over the weekend in order to push toward the top of the Eastern Conference, in which they trail Cincinnati by seven points. The Herons do have three games in hand after their participation in the Club World Cup, but points in the table are always more important than ones that may come.

“Anything that’s going to happen as it relates to next weekend, we’re not going to talk about today because the game’s not until this coming weekend, and we don’t need to announce that now,” MLS commissioner Don Garber said on Wednesaday. “We’re managing through that process as we speak, but I want to say something that we as a league deal with. We have an all-star game that we believe is a real priority, as do all leagues … You know that all-star games have a uniqueness to them as it relates to all the leagues and where do you fit it in the schedule, how do you make it a priority for all your stakeholders, not just your players but your fans, your partners take a break and all the meetings that we’ve had. It’s the first time we’ve had all of our CSOs here, all of our CBOs here, all of our owners here. It is an important midseason break for us. At the same time, we have a player who is … He’s played nine matches in 30 days. Miami’s had a schedule that is unlike any other team. Most of our teams had a 10-day break. Miami hasn’t. We had Leo playing 90 minutes in almost all the games that he’s played … We have to manage through that as a league. The same time, we do have rules and we have to manage through that as well, so we would have loved to have Leo here. We’d have loved to have every player who was selected for the all-star team here, and after this all-star game, we’ll figure out what needs to happen this weekend. I was told this morning that neither Jordi or Messi practiced today, so Jordi came off with an injury last game, and we’ll have to manage through what Miami is going to say about that.

“We should’ve known earlier, we should’ve addressed it earlier. No doubt about that.”

So what could happen next?

In a statement to The Athletic, MLS said, “The league office needs to speak with the club before we confirm player availability for Saturday.”

That process is important to determine why Messi and Alba were held out of participating in the All-Star game Wednesday, which is a blockbuster moment for the league. Facing Liga MX All-Stars, Messi was expected to clash with former Real Madrid men Sergio Ramos and James Rodriguez on the pitch in Austin, which now won’t happen.

There are valid reasons to miss out, but that’s why it’s up to the league to determine in their conversation with Inter Miami. MLS Commissioner Don Garber is already expected to speak ahead of the All-Star game on Wednesday to address the state of the league, and with this development, Messi could be part of that address as well.