Outburst from Lionel Messi as he swears at referee following Inter Miami draw

Lionel Messi unleashed a scathing criticism of the referee in a heated outburst following Inter Miami's controversially denied penalty in a tense MLS confrontation.

Inter were held to a 1-1 draw against Charlotte at the Chase Stadium on Saturday night – their third consecutive draw.

Karol Swiderski gave Charlotte the lead just before the hour mark before Messi levelled the contest, curling a wonderful effort into the bottom corner from outside of the box.

Inter were close to sealing a win late on with three former Barcelona stars almost combining at the death. Messi’s lofted ball was met by Jordi Alba, who headed across to another Camp Nou legend in Luis Suarez.

Suarez hammered his effort over the bar before hitting the deck following a collision with Charlotte goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina.

Messi felt his side should have been awarded a penalty and was furious with the referee’s decision.

The Argentina legend was captured on camera berating the referee and his assistants and was shown a yellow card for his trouble – but avoided further punishment even after swearing in the official’s face.

‘You’re a mean-spirited son of a b***h,’ Messi reportedly told the referee according to Ole.

Despite losing his cool late on, Messi’s earlier strike was his 15th in 16 league games this season, maintaining his side’s unbeaten streak to eight Major League Soccer games.

Victory over Colombus on Wednesday will see Inter wrap up the no1 seed for the MLS Cup play-offs.

Messi returned to action in September after missing two months with an ankle injury suffered during Argentina’s Copa America final against Colombia.

‘Leo is going to get better and better as he plays 90 minutes,’ Inter head coach Gerardo Martino said.

‘Obviously Leo doesn’t need to do separate physical work in training, but he needs competition rhythm , ” Tata said at a press conference.

‘Every time he plays 90 minutes, it gives me an idea that he will be in good shape for the playoffs because, in addition to the games with us , he has the games with the Argentine National Team.’