Referee punished after asking Messi for his shirt

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Concacaf has taken disciplinary action against referee Marco Antonio Ortiz Nava after he was seen seemingly asking Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi for his shirt following their Champions Cup victory over Sporting Kansas City on Wednesday night.

Nava approached Messi after the final whistle and appeared to request his jersey.

The referee later explained that he had been asking for an autograph for a relative with special needs.

However, his actions violated the code of conduct for Concacaf officials.

A statement made available to ESPN, read in part: “The referee’s conduct does not align with the Confederation’s Code of Conduct for match officials and existing processes for these types of requests.

“The referee has acknowledged his mistake, apologized for the incident, and accepted the disciplinary action Concacaf has applied.”

The specific details of the disciplinary action have not yet been disclosed by Concacaf.

Inter Miami won the match 1-0, with Messi scoring the only goal in the second half.

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