The back? No. It definitely hit him in the arm, which was up around his chest/head. Well done by Stoica to give the 'wait and see'--you could see him instinctively put the whistle to his mouth when it happened.
It looked like in the discussion afterwards he was telling the Houston players that he had been warned and/or encouraged to speed up several times (you can see Villarral do the count-up gesture with his fingers). But I agree. I don't think he remembered Sarkodie was on a caution initially.
Pretty sure it didn't hit the arm that was up, it appeared to hit his back near where the other arm was. But as I said, reserving judgment until I can see a screencap or gif.
Went back and looked at the replay on slomo, you're right, it didn't hit his back. It hit him on the side of his body/armpit area. I don't know, seems like not a surefire call to me.
Even if Alston did handle it I think it was more of an instinctive thing with the ball coming at his face at 100 miles an hour.
We can wait for that replay. But given the amount of dissent we see in the league when a call is correct, I'd posit that no MLS player would go as quietly as this one did if he got sent off for stopping a goal with his back.
Per that screen grab above... his head is turned and his arm is out. His arm isn't in front of his head for protection. Instinctive or not (and there likely is a natural instinct that kicks in here), that has to be deliberate handling in a professional match. He's airborne with his leg fully extended and his arm out. He tried to block the ball and stop a goal by any means necessary. And he succeeded. Unluckily for him, he did it with his arm.
Here is the DOGSO handling video: http://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/ma...vs-new-england-revolution/details/video/14142
Looks like armpit when you watch the video to me. Is that illegal? Oh well, at least justice was served with the penalty save.
Justice was served? Alston prevented a certain winning goal in added time by handling on his own goal line, and justice is served because the penalty is saved?
I guess I'd argue that the reason his head is turned and his arm is out is that he flinches and automatically turns his head away. If you watch the video he's getting up after the first block and the ball is fired from close range.
I said that because to me it appears the ball went under his arm and hit him square in the armpit/side of the body.
I'm guessing you're a Revs fan because that's a pretty easy DOGSO-H. I thought the more interesting talking point from the match was the overall handling (or mishandling) of Quincy Amarikwa. 1st card was for diving which I thought could've been a pen, but at worst a no call, and def not a card for diving http://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/ma...vs-new-england-revolution/details/video/14107 2nd was for this: http://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/ma...vs-new-england-revolution/details/video/14129 I also thought Amarikwa was getting the short hand of the stick in general out there as far as what the defenders were allowed to do to him. He scored the 1st goal of the game and was the most dangerous player on the field for most of the match and the tackle he was sent off for seemed to be out of frustration for what was being allowed towards him.
I am a Revs fan, yes, but to me that part of the body will always be armpit to me no matter the team. Shrug.
But if a soccer ball hits me in the armpit, it's definitely touching part of my arm as well. So if I've made myself bigger for that to happen (as Alston did here), then that's handling.
Without stipulating you're right... how does a ball with a 28" circumference strike the armpit of a person without touching part of his arm?
I've got no problem with either card. I think he's looking for that penalty all day and we'll be living in a better world if more plays like that drew yellow cards. As for the tackle, he's lucky he didn't connect with the first leg. That said, Amarikwa's growing frustration was obvious throughout the game. But it also looked like he couldn't be reasoned with (there was a simple throw-in decision by Quisenberry that only fueled the fire and he wouldn't accept the explanation). Analyzing how to handle Amarikwa might be an interesting case study. But, to do it, I think you'd need a lot of tape focused exclusively on him. It's hard to give a cursory assessment of what--if anything--could have been done better.
If the arm is up, as Alston's was, there's absolutely room for a ball to hit that part of the body without touching the arm. I can see this discussion is just going to go in circles, so we'll just have to agree to disagree.
Overall, I thought Stoica was good, but I would have just "played on" on that one as well. Seems to be that the rare times we see a caution for simulation there is some doubt on the play, while many others that are obvious go unpunished. On the second caution to Amarikwa, it seems like he looks back towards the 4th official before he pulls out the card. Also, how often do you see a caution for time wasting in the 1st half of stoppage time? He had verbally warned NE's Barnes on a throw-in in a 1-1 game in the 47th minute to get going. Seconds later, he stops the game and shows the yellow card (it's the only caution that's not shown on mlssoccer.com).
What do you guys think of the red card to Adam Jahn in the Quakes/Rapids game? http://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/ma...s-vs-san-jose-earthquakes/details/video/14190 I won't comment because I'm biased, but I think it's worth a look.