Amid a complicated refereeing situation in Major League Soccer due to the referee union strike, a Brazilian was at the center of an unusual episode in United States soccer. Guilherme Ceretta de Lima had been designated for the Florida derby between Inter Miami and Orlando City last weekend, but was ultimately removed from the match.
Hours before the kick-off, a photo of him wearing Lionel Messi’s team shirt went viral. The image sparked such controversy on social media that the league took action and changed the referee.
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PRO changed the center referee for today's Inter Miami vs. Orlando City game from Guiherme Ceretta to Jamie Herrera, less than 2 hours after photos came out of Ceretta in a Miami kit.
PRO says "conflict of interest".@MLSRefStats brought photos to light https://t.co/cpFmb4ae7B
— Tom Bogert (@tombogert) March 2, 2024
Ceretta himself had posted the picture online in January, but it was only shortly before the game when Orlando fans noticed it. The 40-year-old referee was part of the Brazilian Football Confederation until 2015, and in his home country, he experienced a memorable moment for several fans during the 2015 Paulista Championship final when he sent off Dudu after being pushed by the Palmeiras player.
His consideration in MLS is related to the current referee strike in the competition, as the tournament was forced to rely on referees from lower leagues in the United States in order to start the 2024 season.
Some of these emergency referees have other jobs, such as Gabriele Ciampi, an Italian composer who officiated the draw between Los Angeles Galaxy and Inter Miami.
