00:00Inter-Miami is on to the semifinals of the Liga's Cup Tournament after a win Wednesday night over Mexican side Tigres.
00:07But they won't have their coach for the next match.
00:09What Javier Mascherano did after being ejected has some fans crying foul.
00:17Mascherano received a red card for arguing with the referee at the end of the first half and was ejected,
00:22which meant he could be in the stadium, just not on the field.
00:25When the second half began, he took a seat behind his team's bench, just 10 feet from the railing.
00:32During several big moments, he shouted at players and brazenly used his phone to communicate.
00:37The interactions were caught on the Apple TV broadcast,
00:40with analyst Taylor Twellman pointing out that it wasn't much different from the coach being on the bench.
00:46Inter-Miami's lead assistant Javier Morales said he knew nothing about it.
00:50We didn't expect the red card, you know, and the game, you know, like they started to play well at that moment.
00:56And I didn't see, you know, like what's going on.
00:58I was trying to communicate with Leandro that he was in the sideline, you know, but to be honest, you know, like, I don't know, a lot of things happened on the bench.
01:07Soccer social media exploded with clips from the broadcast showing the coach talking and gesturing towards the field.
01:13Down on the bench, assistant coach Lucas Rodriguez Pagano was also using his phone.
01:19Substitutions were made in those moments, and instructions were relayed to players.
01:24After the match, reporters were told that coaches who are shown red cards are not permitted to give instructions to players.
01:30Tournament regulations on the MLS website say using unauthorized electronic or communications equipment could result in a one-to-three match suspension.
01:39A Ligus Cup spokesperson, however, later told The Athletic,
01:44The incident brings to mind an infamous move by former New York Mets manager Bobby Valentine,
02:01who was ejected from a game in July of 1999, only to return to the dugout in disguise, wearing sunglasses and a fake mustache.
02:11Mascherano's apparent influence from the stands worked.
02:14Miami, playing without injured superstar Lionel Messi, got two penalty kick goals from Luis Suarez.
02:20The game winner came in the 89th minute.
02:23Mascherano's actions will likely be reviewed to determine if there will be any additional penalties,
02:27but he's already suspended for Miami's semifinal against Orlando FC for receiving that red card.
02:35For Straight Arrow News, I'm Chris Francis.
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