An exhibition game between Lionel Messi's Inter Miami CF and Ecuador's Independiente del Valle turned absolutely wild when a fan stormed the field and tackled Messi to the ground.
It was a rather strange game, with both teams wearing black jerseys which only added to the confusion for viewers. Messi put Miami up 2-1 with a penalty goal in the 70th minute, but all hell broke loose in the 88th.
Several fans stormed onto the pitch during a break in the play, all of whom tried to make a beeline for the soccer legend to get up close and personal with him. One got an autograph, one got a selfie and one of them hugged Messi so tightly that when security caught up to him he inadvertently tackled the World Cup winner to the ground.
A collapse in security protocols
Soccer fans were outraged that security at the game in Puerto Rico was so bad as to allow multiple people to get onto the middle of the pitch and dangerously close to hurting Messi.
"That’s completely unacceptable. Lionel Messi is a player not public property, and incidents like this highlight serious lapses in stadium security. Fan access to the pitch should never put players at risk, safety must always come first, regardless of who the player is," one user wrote on X.
"Security failing that badly with Messi on the pitch is unacceptable. That could have gone very differently and the fact that someone got close enough to drag him down means protocols completely broke down," wrote another.
"Admiration is fine, but boundaries matter. Fans can’t compromise player safety for a photo or hug," a third remarked.
Al Bello/Getty Images
The entire thing was a giant cluster-you-know-what. For starters, it was supposed to be a friendly that somehow got pushed off to after the start of the 2026 MLS season. Inter Miami literally have a competitive game this coming Sunday.
If anything bad had happened to Messi in that game, nobody would have forgiven the team for letting him play.
But, it looks like he's fine.