Messi’s teammate Ian Fray sanctioned by MLS for comments after Inter Miami loss to Orlando City

Inter Miami’s dramatic 4-3 loss to Orlando City last Saturday continues to have repercussions for Lionel Messi’s team. Now, Ian Fray has been fined by Major League Soccer for comments he made after the match.

“Ian Fray has been fined for ‘violating the league’s public criticism policy,’” reporter Jose Armando reported Tuesday in a post on his official X account. “The sanction is financial only.”

The punishment stems from remarks the Jamaican right-back made after the match, taking aim at referee Guido Gonzalez. “I think this referee has something against maybe some of the players on our team. That’s just as simple as that,” Fray said during the postgame press conference at Nu Stadium on Saturday.

However, the Inter Miami defender was quick to clarify that Gonzalez’s performance was not the reason for the result. “We shouldn’t have lost regardless of the referee,” Ian said. “That’s not an excuse, I’m not trying to make that an excuse at all.”

Inter Miami have received several MLS sanctions recently

Fray’s case adds to a growing list of Inter Miami players who have been disciplined by MLS in recent weeks. Some of those sanctions stemmed from incidents during matches, while others—like this one—came from postgame actions.

The most recent example involved Luis Suarez, who was also fined by the league for “violating the league’s policy regarding simulation/embellishment” after attempting to draw a penalty during a match against New England Revolution.

Earlier this season, Facundo Mura received a fine for a similar incident against Real Salt Lake, while the most severe punishment was handed to Yannick Bright, who received an additional match suspension for racist remarks.

Ian Fray also reveals Messi’s reaction

During the same press conference in which Ian Fray made the remarks that led to his Major League Soccer sanction, the defender also addressed Lionel Messi’s reaction following the loss to Orlando City on Saturday.

“The captain spoke and gave us a lot of motivational words ahead of the upcoming match,” Fray said about Messi. “He said that this is unacceptable, and it’s something we all completely agree with — this is unacceptable, and it certainly won’t happen again.”