Lionel Messi’s Latest Inter Miami Appearance Turned Chaotic After Fans Stormed the Field
Three fans stormed the field during the 88th minute of Inter Miami’s friendly against Independiente del Valle in Puerto Rico on Thursday night, Feb. 26, and one of them ended up taking Lionel Messi to the ground.
The contact came not from a traditional soccer tackle but from a bear hug that went wrong when security intervened. Messi quickly got up and didn’t appear to be injured, but was visibly annoyed.
The timing matters. Inter Miami begins defense of its MLS title on Saturday against Orlando City at Inter&Co Stadium, and Messi had only recently returned from a hamstring strain that forced the postponement of the very match where the incident occurred.
Messi Scored the Game-Winner Before the Chaos
Inter Miami won the friendly 2-1. Messi entered at halftime with other regular starters and scored the game-winning goal in the 70th minute off a penalty shot.
But the post-match conversation centered on what happened nearly 20 minutes after that goal.
Three fans ran onto the pitch in the closing minutes. One took his shirt off, fell down and ran past Messi with security guards chasing him. The other two headed straight for Messi.
One of those two fans got his shirt signed while the other snapped a selfie with the soccer star.
Then things went sideways. As Messi was finishing the signature, the shirtless fan came from behind and wrapped his arms around him. Security guards caught up with the intruder and tackled him, bringing both the fan and Messi to the ground.
For a player preparing to lead his club into a title defense, the reckless moment carried real consequences beyond the disruption of a friendly match.
Lionel Messi Avoids Further Injury
The tackle by the fan looks especially bad given what Messi and the club had been dealing with in the weeks prior.
The match against Independiente del Valle was originally scheduled for Feb. 13 but was postponed after Messi suffered a hamstring strain during a Feb. 7 preseason contest against Barcelona SC.
Messi addressed the postponement in a video message at the time.
“Hi everyone, I wanted to send this message to the people of Puerto Rico and all the people that will be going to the training session and game,” Messi said, per ESPN. “To be honest, during the last game in Ecuador I concluded with a muscle strain, which is why I left the field early. So, together with the people of the organization and Inter Miami it was decided to suspend this game.”
“We hope it can be reprogrammed, and we can see each other. Visit you soon. Sending a hug to you all and thank you for all the love that you always give. I hope we can do it in the future, all the best,” he added.
The match was rescheduled for Feb. 26 — Thursday’s game. That Messi entered at halftime and scored the game-winner off a penalty suggests his hamstring strain recovery has progressed well enough for meaningful minutes.
The fan incident was the last of a string of unusual events between the two clubs Thursday.
The game was delayed one hour because both clubs showed up with black uniforms, making it difficult to tell the two teams apart. They proceeded to play in the uniforms regardless
Field invasions Are a Recurring Problem
In-game fan interactions have happened often since Messi joined Inter Miami in 2023 as fans attempt to get close to one of the greatest soccer players of all time.
Thursday’s incident crossed a line. Getting tackled to the ground because a security takedown went wrong is a different category of risk than a fan briefly running alongside a player.
The fact that Messi had just returned from a hamstring strain — an injury serious enough to force the postponement of this very match — makes the lack of adequate crowd control all the more frustrating.
The virtual “hug” Messi sent in his video message wasn’t enough for the three fans that stormed the field. One of them got the in-person hug they wanted at the cost of dragging the world’s most famous soccer player to the turf.
Production of this article included the use of AI. It was reviewed and edited by a team of content specialists.
