MIAMI — Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba are “extremely upset” after being suspended for Inter Miami’s home match against FC Cincinnati on Saturday due to their absence from this week’s MLS All-Star Game, according to Miami managing owner Jorge Mas.

Per league rules, any player who does not participate in the All-Star Game without prior approval from the league is ineligible to compete in their club’s next match.

Mas called the rule “draconian,” adding that it was a club decision to hold the two players out of the All-Star festivities because they were coming off a grueling stretch of games and heading into another.

Messi rested this week due to fatigue and Alba was recovering from an injury sustained in the previous match, Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano said Friday morning and Mas confirmed later in the day.

Both players returned to training on Friday and were available to play Saturday, but will not be allowed. Mas said the club spoke with league officials to try to appeal the decision, but were told the suspension will stand.

“I want to reiterate that Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba are consummate professionals; I have said on multiple occasions that Leo is a competitive beast who only wants to win and play games and represent his club and this league with honor and dignity as he has throughout his career,” Mas said on a Zoom call with media.

“We’re coming off a run of nine hard games in 35 days ... facing 10 games over the next 34 days ... I believe [the rule to suspend players for missing the All-Star Game] is a bad rule because it puts the players in an untenable position to have to choose between participating in an All-Star festivity, which is an exhibition match, or a regular-season game that matters. I admire Lionel and Jordi for always thinking of club first.”

Inter Miami had back-to-back games on the road against Cincinnati on July 16 and New York Red Bulls on Saturday, so Messi and Alba would have had to fly to Austin, Texas, midweek for the All-Star Game, fly back Thursday and prepare for Saturday’s game against Cincinnati.

“[To get proper rest] they were faced with either missing a game in New York (a 5-1 win), which was an amazing display of football skills by our team and Lionel Messi, seen around the world, and then participating in the All-Star Game in order to be able to play against Cincinnati,” Mas said. “The rule is, frankly, draconian, needs to be looked at and changed.”

Mas stressed that Inter Miami has represented MLS “in an exemplary way” all season with its performance in the Club World Cup, dealing with the congested schedule and increasing the league’s global exposure. He said Miami’s Club World Cup match against Paris Saint-Germain drew a world audience of 30 million people.

Asked how Messi and Alba took the news of the suspension, Mas said: “They were extremely upset. They want to compete. They want to play games. That’s what they’re here for. They understand the magnitude of [Saturday’s] game, so their reaction was exactly as expected out of two competitive players who don’t understand the decision or a rule that not attending an exhibition match leads directly to a suspension.”

He said he hopes the decision doesn’t have a long-term effect on Messi, who has been in negotiations with the club for months regarding a contract extension. His contract expires at the end of this season.

“Will it have an impact, initially, in the players’ perception of how the league rules work, etc., absolutely, no doubt,” Mas said. “But I’m hopeful. We are taking advantage of this transfer window to strengthen our roster. We’re going to bring in amazing players and continue building.”

Midfielder Rodrigo De Paul, Messi’s close friend and teammate on Argentina’s national team, has already agreed to a four-year loan-to-purchase deal to move from Atletico Madrid to Inter Miami, according to sources with knowledge of the deal. An announcement is expected in the coming days.

MLS Commissioner Don Garber said of the league’s decision to suspend Messi and Alba: “I know Lionel Messi loves this league. I don’t think there’s a player — or anyone — who has done more for Major League Soccer than Messi. I fully understand, respect, and admire his commitment to Inter Miami, and I respect his decision.

“Unfortunately, we have a long-standing policy regarding participation in the All-Star Game, and we had to enforce it. It was a very difficult decision. That said, we’re going to take a hard look at the policy moving forward. I’m committed to working with our players to determine how the rule should evolve.”

Messi, who turned 38 last month, played 90-plus minutes in nine games during a 35-day stretch.

“This was a long week for us, so obviously, we took advantage after the number of games we had in June and July, and the travel, to recover players and part of the plan was that Leo and Jordi [Alba], who left the previous game with an injury, would return to training today,” Mascherano said.

He clarified that Messi did not have a specific injury but “players always feel some discomfort, especially when they play every three days.”

Mascherano added that, in his opinion, the MLS All-Star Game should not be held midweek, shoehorned during an already crowded summer schedule, but rather on a weekend, when the league could take a break from the regular schedule.

“Everyone is entitled to their opinions, which are valid, but I think this type of event, which is great for the league, should not be held in the middle of the week, especially with the calendar that we have,” he said.

“It’s crazy. Of our past five games, four were on the road. For the past two months we have been playing practically every three days, so why not stop league play for a week, play the All-Star Game on the weekend and return the next week.”

Players who participated in Wednesday’s All-Star Game are turning around and playing league games 48 or 72 hours later, and that is not sufficient rest time, Mascherano said.

“What we have to remember is that football is about the players, without the players there are no games, no coaches, no media, no business, nothing,” he said. “We have to take care of them.”

Mas agreed.

“With the schedule congestion, we have to find a way where the All-Star Game gives players some time before and after, so they can enjoy the All-Star Game, but the way it is now is untenable,” Mas said.

Asked why the club waited until the day of the All-Star Game to inform the league that Messi and Alba would not participate, Mas said there had been discussions Monday night and Tuesday morning about possibly having the players attend and not play, but ultimately, it was decided to avoid the travel to preserve energy for the Cincinnati game. He admitted that the communication could have been handled better.

Inter Miami has played 10 more games than most other teams in the league this year because of its participating in the Concacaf Champions Cup and the Club World Cup.

Garber concurred that Miami’s schedule has been busier than most.

“Most of our teams had a 10-day break, Miami hasn’t,” Garber said. “So, we have to manage that as a league. At the same time, we do have rules, and we have to manage through that as well.”

Saturday’s game is a rematch of the July 16 game at Cincinnati, which Miami lost, 3-0. Evander had a brace in that game, and Gerardo Valenzuela scored the other goal. Inter Miami rebounded with an emphatic 5-1 win on the road against the Red Bulls with Messi scoring his sixth brace in the past seven games.

Evander served as team captain in the MLS All-Stars’ 3-1 win against the Liga MX All-Stars.

Cincinnati sits in first place in the Eastern Conference with 48 points and Inter Miami is in fifth place with 41 points with three games in hand. A Miami victory would help close the gap. Nashville and Philadelphia are just behind Cincinnati with 47 points, and Columbus is fourth with 44 points.

Inter Miami will be without injured starting goalkeeper Oscar Ustari and center back Maxi Falcon (yellow card accumulation). Rocco Rios Novo will start in the net.

The game kicks off at 7:15 p.m. and will be shown on FS1 and Apple TV MLS Season Pass. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster.com

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