{"id":230747,"date":"2026-02-28T03:28:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T03:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/28\/lionel-messi-knocked-over-by-pitch-invader-during-inter-milan-friendly-match-in-puerto-rico\/"},"modified":"2026-02-28T03:28:00","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T03:28:00","slug":"lionel-messi-knocked-over-by-pitch-invader-during-inter-milan-friendly-match-in-puerto-rico","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/28\/lionel-messi-knocked-over-by-pitch-invader-during-inter-milan-friendly-match-in-puerto-rico\/","title":{"rendered":"Lionel Messi knocked over by pitch invader during Inter Milan friendly match in Puerto Rico"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n

Lionel Messi was knocked to the ground as fans invaded the pitch during chaotic scenes at a match in Puerto Rico on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Messi was playing for Inter Miami in a friendly against Ecuador\u2019s Independiente del Valle when supporters raced onto the field in the game\u2019s 88th minute.<\/p>\n

While one fan demanded a selfie with the Argentine great and another asked for his shirt to be signed, a third rushed to embrace Messi from behind. A security guard tackled the fan, who dragged the World Cup winner to the floor.<\/p>\n

<\/amp-img><\/amp-iframe><\/div>\n

Watch the biggest Aussie sports & the best from overseas LIVE on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

<\/amp-img>
BAYAMON, PUERTO RICO – FEBRUARY 26: A fan is detained by security guards after jumping onto the field to greet Lionel Messi during a friendly game between Independiente del Valle and Inter Miami at Juan Ram\u00c3&#131;\u00c2\u00b3n Loubriel stadium on February 26, 2026 in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. (Photo by Leopoldo Smith\/Getty Images)<\/span>Source: Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Messi did not appear to be injured in the incident, landing on the fan, before picking himself up and walking away in apparent frustration.<\/p>\n

It capped a farcical night for a friendly that started an hour late due to a disagreement over which colors each team should wear.<\/p>\n

The argument was seemingly never resolved, as both teams ended up playing in black.<\/p>\n

A penalty kick by Messi gave Miami a 2-1 victory.<\/p>\n

Messi, who came on as a substitute at the start of the second half, scored the winning goal in the 70th minute.<\/p>\n

Inter Miami had opened the scoring in the 16th minute with a goal from fellow Argentine Santi Morales.<\/p>\n

Ecuadorian international Patrik Mercado leveled the score in the 17th minute. The friendly was originally scheduled for February 13 but was postponed due to a Messi injury.<\/p>\n

Nearly 20,000 spectators in Bayamon, on the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico, a US territory, gave the Argentine idol a standing ovation when he finally entered the game.<\/p>\n

An eight-time Ballon d\u2019Or winner widely considered one of the greatest soccer players of all time, Messi is expected to represent Argentina at a record sixth World Cup this summer.<\/p>\n

He has not yet officially confirmed he will participate in the tournament, taking place across the United States, Mexico and Canada.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lionel Messi was knocked to the ground as fans invaded the pitch during chaotic scenes at a match in Puerto Rico on Thursday. Messi was playing for Inter Miami in a friendly against Ecuador\u2019s Independiente del Valle when supporters raced onto the field in the game\u2019s 88th minute. While one fan demanded a selfie with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":230748,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6807],"tags":[2228,70431,319,2064,10999,320,26897,7046,1792,18145],"class_list":{"0":"post-230747","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-leagues-cups","8":"tag-agence-france-presse","9":"tag-apparent-frustration","10":"tag-argentina","11":"tag-canada","12":"tag-dor-winner","13":"tag-mexico","14":"tag-puerto-rico","15":"tag-soccer-players","16":"tag-united-states-of-america","17":"tag-winning-goal"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230747","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=230747"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230747\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/230748"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=230747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=230747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=230747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}