Cheating or genius? What Mascherano's coach-by-phone moment says about Miami | OneFootball

Never mind that Major League Soccer slapped Inter Miami hard for violating designated player regulations in its first season; ever since Los Garzas lured Lionel Messi to South Florida (with some creative financial help from the league and its biggest sponsors), the Pink & Black have become the Black Hats of MLS.

Miami manager Javier Mascherano's now infamous phone-coaching from the stands after being ejected at halftime of la Rosanegras' 2-1 Leagues Cup win against Tigres last week is the latest incident "confirming" the Herons' villainy. The Daily Mail included photos of Mascherano and assistant coach Lucas Rodrigues Pagano in its writeup of the match.

But did he break the rules?

On Friday, Leagues Cup officials announced Mascherano would serve a one-match suspension for the red card, which was issued "for using offensive, insulting or abusive language towards the referees" while arguing about the amount of first-half stoppage time allowed.

Did Mascherano's actions mock his being sent off? It sure seemed to. When a player is ejected, he (or she) can have no further impact on a match; the same should be true for coaches. BUT...but Leagues Cup officials at Chase Stadium told reporters that Mascherano hadn't violated any restrictions. The competition's rules only require a tossed coach to leave the bench area.

Mascherano went to the VIP seats one level above the club bench, where he spent the rest of the match. A story by ESPN UK quoted Mascherano defending his actions:

"I abided by the rules and didn't break any rules. I couldn't be on the bench; I wasn't on the bench," the first year Inter Miami coach said. "I could have even sat in a suite because it's part of the stands, and I didn't sit in a suite, meaning, I could have been next to the bench, in the suite next to the owners...it's not my fault how the stadium is configured."

Mascherano also said a Leagues Cup official approved his sitting in "the stands."

Inter Miami will host arch-rival Orlando City in a Leagues Cup semifinal Wednesday without Mascherano, who will serve his one-game red-card suspension. The winner will play either the Los Angeles Galaxy or Seattle Sounders for the 2025 Leagues Cup championship and the semifinal losers will play for third place on Sunday. The top three Leagues Cup finishers automatically qualify for the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup, the most prestigious club competition in North America.

Audacious and ambitious

Was Mascherano's strict interpretation of the guidelines circumvent the spirit of the game? Maybe. Or maybe it was a savvy application of the letter of the law. After Miami pulled off its Messi miracle in 2023, there were grumbles about the deal's wink-and-nod at MLS salary rules. The critics only got louder as the Herons began assembling a cast of former Messi teammates: Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, Luis Suarez, Oscar Ustari...Mascherano, just 41, also played alongside Messi at Barcelona and with the Argentine men's team. The arrival of Rodrigo DePaul "on loan" from Atletico Madrid further fueled charges that MLS was stacking Inter Miami's deck.

But, to the best of my knowledge, Miami hasn't violated any rules building the league's most star-studded roster. Have they aggressively used the mechanisms available to them to achieve their ambitions? Yes, but that's just smart management.

Any MLS franchise could adopt the same strategy: Set ambitious goals, identify what might be possible and act to make it reality.