"They don’t understand the decision," Mas said Friday. "They don’t understand why not attending an exhibition match leads directly to a suspension."

Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami team-mate Jordi Alba have been given one-match bans for skipping Major League Soccer's All-Star game earlier this week.

The 38-year-old Messi is the reigning MLS MVP and the biggest star not only in MLS, but in the sport of soccer as a whole.