Update: Bedoya in the clear. No fine, no suspension, no punishment. https://t.co/0sV7ESZrgg— Andrew Das (@AndrewDasNYT) August 5, 2019 MLS decided not to fine him, that's a little surprising.
I'm a little confused about the red card in the PHI-DCU game. https://mls.app.link/3TAQLF8WUY I thought that DOGSO fouls were automatic YCs if committed in the penalty area, and RCs only if the foul was outside the penalty area, so curious why this was upgraded to a red card after VR? It didn't seem to be a VC red card. Am I missing something?
The yellow in the penalty area only applies if the foul committed was a genuine attempt to play the ball, which this certainly did not appear to be.
Can you imagine the outcry when the next political statement occurs and they punish that one instead?
They covered it in Instant Replay (link here), the video of the play in question starts at about 5:30.
Obviously this can be red. I actually got shown two other angles offline before this one, and I came down with yellow. But the angle that shows the contact best in Instant Replay certainly ticks the box for red. The fact that Saucedo gets up immediately plays a role here at the professional level. I don't like it, because of the whole "the nature of the challenge" part of the laws. But more and more we're seeing that the result makes a huge difference. In this case, Saucedo is fine and the referee was also able to play an advantage. Given those factors, I think more often than not you're going to see a yellow card here in MLS. And, once the yellow is given, there's not enough to say it's clearly wrong. To be clear, I'm fine with red. I think it's red in most games anyone here does. I'd like to live in a world where it should be red in professional leagues and international competitions (let's call that that world "2007 +/- 6 years"). But that's not where we are right now. Taken in full context and not just judging the tackle on its merits, I think yellow is the expected outcome for this right now.
Thanks for sharing your perspective on this. I suspected that Saucedo's reaction played a part in it going yellow, but I think that's unfortunate. First, it further encourages players to simulate because the referee takes their reaction into account. Players REALLY don't need another reason to spend their time rolling around the turf in mock anguish, but if that's the best way to assure someone receives an appropriate punishment, it's smart for them to do so. Secondly, this sort of contact is the sort that COULD do serious damage to a player's health, regardless of whether it does in this particular case. IMO referees should err on the side of protecting the safety of the players, though I know those aren't the marching orders PRO have been given.
Watch it happen. If not, I am sure players will reminded of the rules. Then someone will take offense "well, if he can say his peace, I'll say mine." He says something like Bedoya did. Then... it's up to the powers that be. But make no mistake... precedent has been set whether you agree with Bedoya's stance or not.
I think if I was in the MLS, I'd simply circulate a memo to all broadcast directors telling them to mute the corner mics if a player comes near them after a goal is scored. Pretty easy fix, and no need to punish Bedoya to set a precedent.