Los Angeles - Saba:
Major League Soccer on Friday said Argentine star Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami teammate, former Spanish international Jordi Alba, have been suspended for one game due to their absence from Wednesday's All-Star Game.
The league said in a statement that Messi and Alba will not be available to play for Inter Miami against FC Cincinnati on Saturday "due to their absence" from this week's All-Star Game.
The league added in its brief statement: "According to league rules, any player who does not participate in an All-Star Game without prior league approval is not eligible to participate in their team's next game."
Messi and Alba were selected to play in the MLS All-Star Game against a Mexican league all-star team on Wednesday, but withdrew on the morning of the game for undisclosed reasons.
Messi and Alba's withdrawal 11 hours before the game resulted in their being penalized, as MLS rules require players selected for the All-Star Game to participate unless they have a valid reason, such as injury, preventing them from doing so.
Messi, 38, played nine matches in 35 days, playing 90 minutes each, including four in the Club World Cup.
Messi and Alba's participation in the game was in doubt after Inter Miami's Argentine coach, Javier Mascherano, indicated last weekend that he would have preferred to exempt the duo from the All-Star Game.