Inter Miami head coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino claimed the match against New York City FC at Yankee Stadium “lacked good refereeing” after a heated match at Yankee Stadium on Saturday ended in a 1-1 draw.

Inter Miami players earned five of the nine yellow cards during the match, while a Miami assistant coach was shown a straight red card and sent off the bench in the second half. Noah Allen and Federico Redondo will miss the team’s next match against Charlotte FC on September 28 due to the accumulation of yellow cards.

“The team lacked nothing, but the game lacked a good referee,” Martino said during his post-match press conference.

Martino was particularly angry with the referee for not calling a foul when Inter Miami defender Yannick Bright went down in the penalty area, allowing NYCFC midfielder James Sands to head in the equalizer in the final minute.

“We played a good game, we should have won,” he added. “If the referee had whistled the foul against Yannick Bright, we would have won the game 1-0.”

Miami (19-4-7) didn’t get on the scoreboard until the 75th minute when Leo Campana, a late addition to the game, finished off a play started by Lionel Messi. Messi carried the ball forward before finding Jordi Alba to his left who raced into the box and tapped the ball to a wide open Campana.

New York (11-11-8) were awarded a corner kick in the fifth minute of injury time and Santiago Rodríguez made a perfect pass into the penalty area, where Sands was left completely free on the 6-yard line to head the ball just inside the near post.

The game drew 44,738 spectators to Yankee Stadium, the second-highest attendance in NYCFC history. The two clubs played a 1-1 draw in Miami on March 30.

Despite consecutive draws against Atlanta United and New York City, Inter Miami remain top of the Eastern Conference and the Supporters’ Shield with 64 points from 30 games.

The Herons need eight points from their final four games to secure the Supporters’ Shield, and 10 points to break the Major League Soccer record for most points earned in a single season. The New England Revolution currently hold the competition record after earning 73 points in 2021.

Inter Miami returns to action next Saturday when they host Charlotte FC at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.