5 Yellow Cards Don’t Suspend Lionel Messi Thanks to This Unusual Rule

Five yellow cards usually mean one thing in MLS: a player misses the next game. Lionel Messi has reached that number this season, yet Inter Miami can still count on their biggest star against the New England Revolution. An unusual league rule has kept him out of suspension trouble. Messi received his latest booking during Inter Miami’s 2-2 draw against FC Cincinnati on Wednesday. It was his fifth caution of the regular season, following bookings against the Colorado Rapids, Orlando City, Nashville SC, and Atlanta United. Under the usual accumulation rule, that would have triggered a one-game ban.