Messi bodyguard banned from Leagues Cup after Inter Miami-Atlas scuffle
One of the most familiar faces at Inter Miami games is set to miss some time, and this time it’s not Lionel Messi.
Messi’s bodyguard Yassine Cheuko will be suspended for the duration of the 2025 Leagues Cup after entering the field of play without authorization amid a post-game scuffle.
In a press release on Friday, Aug. 1, Leagues Cup — a competition between clubs from MLS and Mexico’s Liga MX — said that ‘a member of Inter Miami’s club delegation displayed improper conduct by entering restricted areas without an official event credential.’
People with knowledge of the situation have confirmed to USA TODAY Sports that the person in question is Cheuko. The persons requested anonymity since Cheuko’s name was not publicly announced in the release.
Cheuko has become a well-known presence on the touchline at Inter Miami matches since Messi arrived in MLS in 2023. Generally, his role has been to stop pitch invaders from reaching Messi, whose popularity has tested MLS security measures in a way the league has not previously encountered.
The Leagues Cup disciplinary committee announced that it had ‘suspended the individual involved from all technical areas for the remainder of Leagues Cup 2025 and issued an undisclosed fine to Inter Miami CF.’
The incident in question came after a dramatic 2-1 Miami win over Atlas on Wednesday, July 30, with Messi setting up Marcelo Weigandt for a game-winning goal six minutes into second-half stoppage time. Weigandt’s goal was initially chalked off, but VAR overturned that call, awarding the Herons a win.
It was a remarkable end to a fiery game that had seen players and coaches from both sides jawing at one another, and Messi let Atlas’ Matías Cóccaro hear it while celebrating with new teammate Rodrigo De Paul. With the full time whistle coming seconds later, the normal post-game handshakes and hugs devolved momentarily, Cheuko was seen among the scuffling players and team staffers, at one point shoving Atlas defender Jorge San Martín.
The incident is not the first in which Cheuko’s presence has drawn pushback. In April, Miami told USA TODAY Sports that the bodyguard would no longer be on the touchline during the club’s MLS matches. At the time, Cheuko had said he was ‘banned’ from the field, though Miami said he would remain a club employee.
It’s also the latest bit of friction between Messi’s camp and MLS, who along with Liga MX, organizes Leagues Cup. Last week, the Argentine icon and teammate Jordi Alba were suspended for one match after not participating in the MLS All-Star Game. Miami owner Jorge Mas cited the need to rest Messi in the face of the Herons’ unusually demanding schedule, and said Messi was ‘very upset’ after MLS decided to enforce a rule requiring healthy players to participate if named to the All-Star roster.