Javier Mascherano refused to allow Inter Miami to be labeled as an undisciplined team following the MLS's automatic suspension of Luis Suarez. During a press conference, he engaged in a heated exchange with journalists who had a different perspective on the sanction. imposed on the Uruguayan striker.

Even the Argentine strategist of the Herons team was demanding on the issue of not labeling his squad as a violent team and challenged them to show him the number of expulsions they suffered throughout the season.

“How many players are there in MLS? But I can tell you that we had an expulsion in Houston and then it was revoked, and well, then what happened in Seattle and we clearly said that we had made a mistake, but after that I don't remember another one.

But let's not make a circus out of all this, but it only happened once in Seattle and then there are plays and expulsions of more players. Soccer is a contact sport, and where many times things happen, but we are not a team that starts pitched battles every game.”

Mascherano, for that reason, explained that they are careful not to be victims of expulsions in the playoff games: “Because we usually have conversations "We need to keep a cool head, because we could hurt ourselves, and today is one case, but it's over and we have to look ahead."

Suarez's Suspension: A Negative Precedent

Regarding the negative precedent that the automatic sanction against Luis Suarez will set, after the referee and VAR saw nothing illegal in the play that led to his one-match suspension by the Major League Soccer (MLS) Disciplinary Committee.

"First, I think the club was clear in the statement they released the other day. I think everyone at the club is on the same page. Honestly, this is a personal matter for me; it's my personal opinion, and I found it very strange.

"It's a play that was reviewed by VAR in real time, and it didn't suggest any sanction, neither from the referee nor VAR, but oh well,"The MLS rules are this way. We accept what the club said, but we don't agree with it. We accept and respect the decision, but we hope the regulations will be the same for everyone," the Argentine coach emphasized. He added: "I'm not an MLS historian, so I don't know if there's a precedent in the playoffs where a player was suspended by default. Do you have that precedent? Why is a precedent being set if it's the first time? But if it's the first time a player has been sanctioned by default, not during the game, it sets a precedent. I think that's what the club is talking about in the statement."