Inter Miami courts controversy, clinches Leagues Cup final berth

Miami has fended off accusations of fixing and favoritism since Lionel Messi joined its ranks in the summer of 2023. It's signed world-class players to nigh-unbelievable contracts and it's won a remarkable percentage of games thanks to late (and often questionable) refereeing calls. Controversy just follows Miami like that, painting the field in technicolor just like its pink-clad stars do.

For the most part, all of those accusations amount to little. Simply put, Miami is creative with the rules, both on and off the field, and its competitors are jealous of its success. But Miami's 2025 Leagues Cup campaign has stretched the limits of credulity. From its opening game to its semifinal against Orlando City, Miami has won thanks to controversy and confusion. 

Its luck has been impeccable. Its play? Less so.

Miami's first Leagues Cup game, a relatively straightforward match against mid-tier Liga MX side Atlas, ended with a controversial late winner from Uruguayan defender Marcelo Weigandt. The goal itself was perfectly clean, a gorgeous, well-drilled box play created by Messi and his striking partner Luis Suarez. But it sure would've felt better if that gorgeous, well-drilled box play happened within the bounds of extra time. 

The referee gave five minutes of extended play. Weigandt's goal came in the sixth and wasn't officially given until the eighth.

No matter. Extra time is a suggestion, not a rule, and it's not uncommon for referees to allow play to continue if promising attacks are developing. But it was Miami's second game, a tense, hard-fought battle with Necaxa, that started to raise eyebrows. 

This game had everything: multiple red cards, a Necaxa go-ahead goal disallowed due to a tight offside call, and a controversial free kick awarded to Miami in extra time that wound up equalizing the match. Miami won on penalties.

Game 3 was quieter, with just one controversial call — a handball penalty converted by Luis Suarez — marring the final scoresheet. But that one call wound up following Miami clear through to its quarterfinal against Liga MX side Tigres. 

Miami's 2-1 win in that match came on the back of not one but two near-identical questionable handball penalties, both converted by Suarez, one in the final minute of regular time. 

While all that drama unfolded, Miami's coach Javier Mascherano earned himself a red card for talking back to the referee. (What he could possibly be complaining about remains a mystery.) When coaches get red carded, they are supposed to retreat to the upper stadium suites; while they're allowed to speak with their assistants from there, they must move far away from their players. 

Mascherano didn't do that. In a move that left even the on-air broadcasters flabbergasted, he settled himself in one row behind his bench. Leagues Cup officials declined to punish him.

And the semifinal, Miami's grand Florida derby against Orlando City? That game hinged on a clear Orlando penalty that wasn't called and an unclear Miami penalty that was. 

One controversial match is one thing. Two is another. But five in a row, featuring everything from handballs to penalties to never-ending extra time to coaching antics, is simply exhausting.

There is no conspiracy here, no grand plot to keep Messi on our television screens, no matter what the darkest corners of the MLS fandom tell you. Miami isn't the recipient of some special pass. It's just a talented team of players and coaches that has figured out exactly how to work stadiums, referees and opposing teams to its advantage. That, in a way, is the truly impressive thing about Miami's 2025 Leagues Cup run. This team has turned what we charitably call "game management" into an art form.

But to fans, neutrals and, perhaps most importantly, MLS executives and investors, it's worth asking the blunt question: Is this the kind of soccer you want to see?

Miami is heading to the 2025 Leagues Cup final, and deservedly so. But with five games, five wins and a whole lot of controversy in the rearview mirror, it feels more like an trick than a triumph.