Inter Miami's Sergio Busquets admits Mark Delgado's sending off was 'not even a card' as LA Galaxy midfielder committed ghost foul on Spaniard - leading to 'influenced' Lionel Messi equalizer

In their 1-1 draw Sunday evening in Los Angeles, the Herons salvaged a point in stoppage-time through a brilliant finish from Lionel Messi. The strike came minutes after the Galaxy's Mark Delgado was sent-off for a second yellow card offense, one that has been the center of controversy all week. The midfielder himself even posted on social media that he was speechless over the call, sharing a clip of the foul on social media.

When asked about the foul, that saw him go down with what appeared to be a non-contact foul. Busquets replied: "Yes, there was contact. It was very mild. But it was the referee's decision about the card. I had practically not even seen that he had drawn a card because his back was turned and perhaps he is right that much more is needed for an expulsion because perhaps it was not even a card. A very slight fault that practically touched me."

When asked if he believes the red factored into their late equalizer, the Spaniard admitted he believed it did, adding: "As the game was, I'm sure it was because the goal was after the expulsion and playing with one less can always influence it, but it was a referee's decision about which we can't do much more."

The controversy surrounding the sending off - and now Bousquet's comments - is that MLS is currently using replacement referees instead of their usual officials, and that it is set to continue into week two of the season.

The league and the Professional Referees Organization (PRO) have not come to an agreement over a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the Professional Soccer Referees Association (PSRA). As such, PRO has locked out the PSRA - which consists of over 240 staff members qualified to referee at the MLS level.

The current replacement referees being used by MLS consist of youth and college officials and members of the USL and MLS NEXT Pro.

The Herons take on Orlando City in a South Florida rivalry Saturday as Inter Miami looks for their second home win of the season. The Galaxy, meanwhile, will clash against the San Jose Earthquakes in an early season edition of the California Clasico.