http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqTqyc-YBC0&mode=related&search= The fight happens around 00:59. Beckham gets literally kicked in the stomach as he dribbles past Jesse Marsch. After falling to the ground, he gets up and charges toward Marsch, along with several other Galaxy players. Most notable is Alex Zotinca (Chivas) headbutting a Galaxy player (I never found out who). What the highlight reel fails to show is: 1.) A series of two or three borderline fouls that weren't called. They weren't horrendous actions, but I think as they escalated it might have been smart to get a handle on things. They happen in quick succession right before Marsch kicks Beckham. The last one is somewhat visible at the very start of that clip at 00:59. 2.) A bad no-call that would have resulted in a PK against LA. An LA player came in VERY late and swiped the legs out from under an attack Chivas player as he crossed laterally between the penalty spot and top of the goal area. This was about 15 minutes or so prior, and at this point I looked at my dad and said, "Fight by halftime, what do you think?" The disciplinary actions against the foul/fight were: -Jesse Marsch (Chivas) was cautioned for the "tackle" on Beckham. -Alex Zotinca (Chivas) was sent off for Violent Conduct for his headbutt. -Kevin Harmse (LA) was sent off for Violent Conduct, but I never actually saw what he did. The referee was Terry Vaughn, ARs were Thomas Supple and George Vergara, and 4th was Kevin Stott. From the highlight and the subsequent replay, I really think that a kick to Beckham's abdomen was very clear, and deserving of a red card, rather than the yellow he received. The sanctioning of Zotinca was taken care of well. I'm not sure what Harmse did, the replay doesn't do a good job of showing his behavior. Marsch was later quoted in THIS ARTICLE as saying: Discuss?
I did not think the tackle on Beckham was a red card at the time, nor do I now. It was a cynical foul, but IMO it did not endanger Beckham so I thought a yellow was fine. ARs did a great job of coming in and picking up the headbutt and punch. I know for sure Vaughn did not see the headbutt, as the replay showed him dealing out the initial yellow card at that moment. I didn't see the punch, but it was implied by the announcers that one was thrown or attempted. I really didn't think there were any fouls that were obviously missed prior to the scuffle (beyond the PK discussed below). As for the non-PK, I was surprised by this decision. I'm not sure if Vaughn thought the guy had blown his chance already and didn't deserve another bite at the apple. However, it seemed like a late enough tackle that it probably warrented a PK.
I think there was a couple of contact moments that could have been called as fouls. Especially Beckham tripping Marsch, which prompted the retaliation in the first place. It was a pretty clear trip that went unpunished. However, given the events as they transpired I would have sent off Marsch as well. His cleats were way up in the air, completely exposed, and I would consider that "endangering the safety of the player." It was cynical in nature, and against Beckham you know there is going to be a fight. Harmse did punch Zotinca, but not very hard. However, it was hard enough to be violent conduct. Zotinca then head-butted him. The bottom line is that Vaughn should have called the Beckham trip. Combined with the other smaller "fouls" that also could have been called leading up to the blowup, and it is safe to say this situation could have been avoided entirely. I don't like how things played out up to Marsch's foul on Beckham in this type of game.
The headbutt did occur outside of his field of vision, as you mentioned, so that definitely deserves kudos to the ARs. That quick set of three or so tackles seemed to escalate into the final altercation between Marsch and Beckham. Hindsight is 20-20, so that's probably why I view them that way. In the manner in which the game was played, I can see him not calling them. The Non-PK was just a blown call. I don't know how Vaughn may have thought that he blew his chances... it looked like he was possessing the ball across the penalty area, took a touch far enough away to get past the defender and just got whacked. And Joe's reasoning for the send-off were mine verbatim.
for sure once he started letting the fouls go they kept escalating and it did culminate in the Marsch "tackle". It's a derby game with the potential for things to get a little out of hand and they did. I think he needed to try to keep a little tighter lid on things. I think it did start with the Beckham hack on Marsch and Jesse really got into Vaughn's face about it too. Then there was a series of tackles that looked like fouls to me going both ways right before the dustup. I could certainly feel it coming watching it on TV. I didn't see the punch, but Harmse is a bit of a dirty player so I am not surprised. Martino was putting his hands in one Chivas player's face as well and got away with it. Definitely a good pick up by the ARs to spot the misconduct. I think part of the reason Marsch might have just gotten the yellow instead of red was because it was a retaliation for getting fouled and Vaughn knew he should have called that first foul.
Harmse was the one that got Zidaned I think. I don't know if he got the card for instigating or what. From all the views I've seen he didn't do anything.
Harmse did a ninja uppercut. It's hard to make out, b/c you really only see shoulders and up on him and Zontinca, but there were a few little pushes, then Harmse (the REAL McSorely to Beckham's Gretzky) does a little uppercut to the gut of Zontinca. You can tell he's trying to hide it from the refs (who are almost in the same line of sight of the camera) and get a nice little cheap shot; Zontinca might want to start looking for work in Mixed Martial Arts, that was a nice head butt.
I was exactly the opposite, I thought Red from the beginning and after seeing the replay felt even more confirmed it should have been a red. Marsch makes no attempt at the ball at all, his foot is almost in Beckham's chest, it's from behind and there's no way he could make a move like that without fouling the player. To me that's enough to say we've moved beyond careless and reckless, even at the pro level. Having now seen Marsch's remarks after the game about it being retalliatory, I feel even more convinced that this should have been a red. Obviously Terry Vaughn doesn't have the benefit of that info on the field, but it just adds support to what I thought was already a clear send-off.
The foul by Marsch on Beckham was a clear red card. Vaughn should have known about Marsch and the way he plays. He has been a chopper in MLS for many years, and knows exactly what he is doing. The other two red cards were correct but could have been avoided by quicker firm action from Vaughn. The AR's saved his skin, but a referee who has been in MLS for as long as he has, should know better... or perhaps not.
Definitely a red for Marsch, no question. The guy had his boot up in Beckham's rib cage, from behind, and there was no way he was even close to going after the ball. Regardless of what may have happened previously, there's just no justification for allowing this. Beckham showed some class by bailing out of the argument early.
I agree on the Marsch call, especially since it was also clearly retaliation. (Marsh is a no-talent punk, by the way, and we if let people like him cripple Beckham, or other talented players, MLS will devolve into the Scottish second division...)
A good analysis of this incident for referees and players can be found here: http://fortheintegrityofsoccer.blogs.com/artandscienceofrefereeing/ Pierre
The blog has this attached photo of Marsch commiting the foul, with the ball being several feet in front of the contact. Why wouldn't you call that? Clear intent to foul or injure, nothing to do with the play. Beckham is totally focused on the ball, Marsch is totally focused on Beckham. And, again, the whole ugly thing on youtube. See the slo-mo of the Marsch foul. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sotolFBuGW0
Nice find! I did as he stated and watched the incident again, this time paying special attention to the referee. I don't agree that he was only 12-15 yards away, I think he was farther away. But regardless, point #5 is the one that strikes me as the key here. The refere is too far behind play and fails to anticipate. Lumbering up the field was a great description. He continues to lumber up the field after the break away begins, continues at that slow pace after the contact, and only begins to sprint in after there are 4-6 players involved in a scrum. This blog is an excellent analysis of the events that led to this issue and how it could have been prevented. It's certainly an opportunity for referees everywhere to learn from the unfortunate mistake of a colleague.
I started this game right after the fight so I didn't see it or the earlier pk situation. How late was the tackle? if the ball is already out of play when the tackle occurs a PK can't be awarded but the player can be issued a caution or send off if required and restart would be a goal kick. If he was really late and it was a shot this may be the case why the PK was not given.