MLS fines Messi for grabbing neck of NYCFC assistant coach

Major League Soccer fined Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez undisclosed amounts for separate altercations during and after Inter Miami's season-opening 2-2 draw Saturday with New York City FC.

The league said in a statement Tuesday that both stars were disciplined for violating its "hands to the face/head/neck of an opponent" policy.

Messi grabbed New York City assistant coach Medhi Ballouchy by the back of the neck after the final whistle of a heated affair in which Miami played most of the game with 10 men.

Messi was also seen remonstrating with the match referee after the contest.

"I don't have too many things to say. It's difficult when you are on the pitch," Inter Miami head coach Javier Mascherano said of his captain's exchange with Ballouchy, per Lizzy Becherano of ESPN. "And sometimes you think that things are not going the right way because sometimes you can see some mistakes from the referee. But at the end, in football, to understand the players and the emotions of the player, you have to be inside on the pitch and try to see from afar, it's difficult.

"It's difficult sometimes to control the emotions. I think the press sometimes want to create a circus about it," Mascherano, Messi's compatriot and former teammate, added. "And that happens in every game that you can discuss with the referee, with some opposing players. It's like this. It's important, what we say in Argentina, what we say, the things that happen in the pitch stay in the pitch. And we forget, we are looking forward to the next game."

MLS punished Suarez for making contact with NYCFC defender Birk Risa's neck seconds after the whistle to end the first half of the tetchy game at Chase Stadium.

Despite their fines, Messi and Suarez will be available for Inter Miami's next MLS match against the Houston Dynamo on March 2.