Before this MLS season began, clubs were told that certain challenges would see an increased risk of straight red cards. The tackles in question were late, hard slides with the cleats turned up into the victim. These tackles can be dangerous as many players have suffered severe injuries as a result of these plays. While their intentions are noble, MLS has allowed their reckless handing out of red cards for reckless challenges ruin too many games in the first three weeks of the season. In short, in MLS red cards are out of control.
The first tackle that saw endless debate was in Seattle Sounders’ opener against Sporting Kansas City. Oneil Fisher was sent off for this awkward looking tackle on SKC’s Connor Hallisey. It was less of a tackle than it was an aggressive fall in the general direction of the attacker. Because Fisher’s feet were sort of up with the cleats showing, he was issued a red by the letter of the law. Seattle was forced to play a man down for nearly 50 minutes and ended up losing by a goal to nil because they could hardly put together an attack while being undermanned.
That call feels like ancient history compared to the pair that went down this past weekend.
The first came in the Portland-Real Salt Lake match and it affected a well known US National Team player. Kyle Beckerman was sent off just before halftime of the match for a late tackle that caught Fanendo Adi’s foot in a rough position. Beckerman was trying to get to the ball before the big Nigerian striker, was a little late in getting there, and caught his foot instead. There was no intent to injury Adi. He was simply trying to get to the ball first. The Timbers would end up storming back from two goals down to earn a draw after Jamison Olave was shown a legitimate red for an unnecessary smack to Adi’s face later in the match.
Finally, in Sunday afternoon’s Philadelphia Union-New England Revolution match, Je-vaughn Watson was sent off in the 36th minute to a similar tackle to Beckerman’s. He slid in for the ball, was a tad late, and barely caught the leg of Roland Alberg. This challenge was one that the reaction looked a lot worse than the actual tackle. Alberg rolled on the floor like he had just been shot, but in reality, he was just fine. The challenge was a yellow card at worst. Sending Watson off was a harsh way to punish a hustle play.
These fouls all have a few things in common. Yes, they are all late challenges that can result in injuries. Yes, by the letter of the law, they can be considered red cards. However, they also don’t see players with malicious intent looking to go out and injure a fellow player. They are motivated by a defender wanting to win the ball back for their team and willing to make a personal sacrifice to do so. If you ask Fisher, Beckerman, or Watson if they had unsporting intentions, each one would answer with an honest no. I feel like that the referees could have shown these players a yellow as a warning to avoid this type of play in the future and no fan, player, commentator, or coach would get upset. The game would remain 11 on 11, yet the message would have been sent. Do that again, and you’re gone.
That’s not to say a full on, studs up, clattering into somebody shouldn’t result in a sending off. The stomp that Roger Espinoza dropped on Marky Delgado on Sunday night was legitimate, for instance. I also didn’t have a problem with Simon Dawkins seeing red for his scissor kick from behind on Sebastian Lletget in Saturday’s California Clasico. I just don’t like these red cards for these guys clipping a player’s boot because their aim on a slide tackle was slightly off.
Straight red cards should be reserved for intents to injure and truly violent plays that show little or no intention for winning the ball. None of these tackles fit that description. While I understand the argument for player safety, soccer is sometimes a violent game. MLS is risking the enjoyment of its product for a risk that isn’t all that foreign to the game. No fan wants to see more red cards, it creates a less watchable product that can affect a neutral’s enjoyment of the match. No team wants to get thrown down to ten men and severely hurting their chances for ticky tack calls like these. Just reign in your ejections, MLS. Before it starts to bring the game down any more.
Main Photo: Gene Sweeney Jr, Getty Images
