Bangladeshi-origin Cavan Sullivan sees red against Inter Miami

Lionel Messi looked to the sky in an emotional celebration after scoring for the first time since his father’s death. His goal put Inter Miami ahead, but they eventually had to settle for a 2-2 draw against Philadelphia Union. The match’s late incident brought Bangladeshi-origin youngster Cavan Sullivan into the spotlight.

The match at Subaru Park, played on Thursday morning Bangladesh time, had 12 minutes of added time after the regulation 90 minutes. Near the end of stoppage time, tensions flared between Philadelphia’s Quinn Sullivan and Miami’s Yann Freire. The argument began after Quinn claimed he had been fouled.

Cavan stepped in to support his brother, further escalating the situation. At one point, Miami’s Yannick Bright and Philadelphia’s Cavan began shoving each other. After the situation was brought under control, referee Filip Dujic showed both players straight red cards. Quinn Sullivan, who was involved at the beginning of the incident, was not sent off and instead received a yellow card.

Cavan had started the match and played the full game, although he had little impact in attack. In the 35th minute, he tried a left-footed shot at goal, but Miami goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair made the save.

Quinn, meanwhile, did not start the match. He came on in the 68th minute as a substitute for Indiana Vassilev. Vassilev had scored Philadelphia’s opening goal in the 11th minute.

Quinn also exchanged a few words with Messi during the match. Once the situation had settled down, Messi was seen lightly patting Quinn on the back of his head. The exchange did not develop into a serious confrontation.

The Sullivan family’s connection to Bangladesh does not end there. Cavan and Quinn’s brothers, Ronan and Declan Sullivan, helped Bangladesh win the SAFF U-20 Championship this year. Although Declan saw limited playing time in the tournament, Ronan was one of Bangladesh’s standout players.

Ronan scored twice in Bangladesh’s opening match against Pakistan. He later scored a Panenka-style penalty against India in the final and celebrated by taking off his jersey, a moment that won over Bangladeshi football fans.

Despite the draw against Philadelphia, Inter Miami remain second in the MLS Eastern Conference. They have 39 points from 20 matches, with 11 wins, six draws and three defeats. Nashville lead the conference with 46 points from 20 matches.