Soccer is slowly dying. And no, I’m not talking about boring defensive tactics or the overload of technology that turns every play into a doctoral thesis on the rules. I’m talking about the lack of humanity. The story of Mexican referee Marco Antonio Ortiz Nava is just another chapter in this absurd theater. The guy got punished for asking for Lionel Messi's autograph after the Inter Miami vs. Sporting Kansas City game.
Ortiz Nava didn’t call a non-existent penalty, didn’t favor one team over another, didn’t manipulate the outcome. He simply, after the final whistle, asked the greatest player of all time for an autograph. And guess what? It wasn’t even for him! The ref wanted to give it to a family member who has special needs. But to CONCACAF, that was a sin.
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The statement from the governing body makes it clear: the referee admitted his "mistake," apologized, and accepted the punishment. But did he really mess up? Or are we just witnessing another pathetic example of soulless bureaucracy at its finest?
We live in an age where decisions aren’t made based on what's right or wrong, but on what looks "professional" or "ethical" to a handful of suited-up folks who barely know what a soccer ball is. The ref didn’t break any rule that impacted the game. Soccer is, above all, passion. If players can ask each other for jerseys after a match, why can’t a referee, as a spectator after the final whistle, do the same?
This obsession with the image of “impartiality” is borderline ridiculous. Messi himself, a guy who’s seen it all, didn’t seem bothered. In fact, he probably thought it was no big deal. But CONCACAF? They turned it into something way bigger than it needed to be.
Soccer is turning into a sport for robots. Referees can’t show emotion, players have to give cookie-cutter interviews with lines straight out of a media training manual, and any spontaneous act could lead to punishment.
What’s really at stake here isn’t just a referee’s punishment, but the death of authenticity in the game. Soon, players will need permission to smile after scoring. Goal celebrations are becoming the target of boring regulations. VAR has already sucked half the excitement out of plays. Now they’re punishing a referee for admiring an idol?
If a referee asked Michael Jordan for an autograph after an NBA game, would the league ban him? If a Super Bowl ref asked Tom Brady for his jersey, would that become negative headlines? Hard to imagine. But in soccer, where everything has to be controlled, where any genuine gesture seems like a threat to the established order, that’s where the scandal brews.
Soccer’s got real problems, bad refereeing, corrupt officials, insane schedules, doping, sports betting... and CONCACAF decides to burn energy punishing a ref for an innocent request? You know who hasn’t been punished recently? The suits stealing money from federations. Coaches who openly pressure referees. Players who flop to manipulate results.
Soccer thrives on emotion, stories, idols. And believe it or not, referees are part of that spectacle. If someone has officiated a World Cup final, for instance, it’s normal for them to feel proud of that. If a ref wants to keep a souvenir from a special moment, what’s the harm in that?
If there was even a shred of common sense in CONCACAF, the response would’ve been different. Maybe a private word, a reminder not to do that publicly in the future. But turning it into a professional ethics issue? That just shows how disconnected these bureaucrats really are from the game. Ortiz Nava wasn’t punished for compromising his officiating. He was punished for being human. And that, my friends, is a clear sign that soccer is losing its soul. As long as the higher-ups keep worrying about appearances instead of fixing real problems, we’ll see more and more of these ridiculous situations.