Referee for Inter Miami vs Orlando MLS Match Changed Hours Before Kickoff

Highlights

• Referee Guiherme Ceretta was replaced as the referee for Inter Miami vs Orlando City after photos emerged of the official in a Miami jersey.
• Ceretta’s replacement comes amid a standoff between the PRO and Professional Soccer Referees Association (PSRA).
• Lionel Messi and Miami are hoping to continue their unbeaten start to the MLS season against Orlando on Saturday.

The appointed referee for Inter Miami’s Major League Soccer (MLS) contest with Orlando has officially been changed mere hours before kick-off as photos emerged of Guiherme Ceretta, the original man in charge, wearing a Miami jersey, per The Athletic.

The Professional Referee Organization (PRO) announced referee assignments for Saturday’s match between the Florida-based rivals and initially listed Ceretta as the official set to take centre-stage – but he was quickly replaced by Jamie Hererra in the wake of the controversy. In a statement to The Athletic, PRO said that “referee Guiherme Ceretta was removed from the game due to a potential conflict”.

Ceretta’s last-minute replacement news comes amid a standoff between the PRO and Professional Soccer Referees Association (PSRA) over negotiations for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). As such, all current officials are not part of the PSRA and typical MLS refs – commonly referred to as “replacement refs”. The officials used in this week’s games are from youth and college levels, different levels of the USL and MLS NEXT Pro.

Photos emerged of Ceretta in Miami jersey

Official was quickly replaced by Jamie Herrera

But upon the emergence of an X (formerly Twitter) post from MLSRefStats, the organisation took notice quickly and made a swift change – and he has since been replaced with Jamie Herrera, according to PRO’s official assignment list.

Images posted by the social media account in the hours in the lead-up to the derby showed Ceretta donning an official away Miami strip. Herrera officially replaced Ceretta within hours of the photos coming to light. The assignments were announced at 14:00 UK time and the change was made some four hours later, per talkSPORT, with kick-off at 21:30.

Originally, Herrera was recognised as the tie’s fourth official, but in the wake of the photos coming to the fore, this role has now been taken up by Ivan Cid Cruz.

Potentially inspired by the arrival of Lionel Messi, Ceretta is not the only man to be taken aback by the Argentine strutting his stuff on the American scene. Despite it being 2024, the desire to see him up, close and personal never tires – with his side holding a clean sweep of the 10 most, on average, expensive tickets in the MLS this season.

Lionel Messi and Inter Miami’s season so far

Miami start weekend first in MLS Eastern Conference

Messi’s side return to action on Saturday night in front of a raucous home crowd for their third league fixture of the season with them currently sitting top of the MLS’ Eastern Conference table with four points from two games.

The 36-year-old ace and his fellow teammates opened the 2024 MLS term with a 2-0 victory against Salt Lake, though the Argentine failed to get on the scoresheet. That was quickly followed by a 1-1 draw, with the World Cup winner scoring a 92nd minute equalizer against LA Galaxy.

The rest of the division, barring Columbus Crew, have only played once so far and so, the importance of their clash against Orlando grows. Elsewhere, Orlando’s first game produced a goalless draw with Montreal.

In last campaign’s clash between the two, eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi bagged a brace to give Miami a lead in their 3-1 win triumph over Orlando in the Leagues Cup. Messi’s employers went on to win the tournament, overseeing Nashville in the final on penalties.