By now, if you haven’t heard because you have been under a rock since Tuesday, during the Seattle Sounders Fourth Round US Open Cup match against its arch rival the Portland Timbers, Clint Dempsey got a red card in what some are calling boss style, one year to the day after he scored the quickest goal in US Men’s National Team history.
Following Michael Azira's red card for what looked like an elbow to the throat of his opponent, referee Daniel Bradford went straight to his chest pocket and pulled out a red card. In disbelief the entire Seattle team of eight at the time all ran to Bradford in protest to the card. Dempsey saw Bradford’s notebook in his hand and while Bradford had his back to Dempsey, Clint swatted it out of his hand.
After swatting it out Dempsey then picked it up and ripped it to pieces. Initially, Bradford only brandished a yellow for dissent until he noticed what Dempsey had taken out of his hand and then switched the yellow to a straight red for violent conduct. In this writer's opinion, this was the correct decision. At first, most of us missed it on the live because it happened so fast, and most Sounders fans were out-crying why it was a straight red. This writer's guess was that he crossed the line and said something really bad.
While it was undoubtedly a funny incident to watch, this entire situation a joke. First off, the official in charge of the match was a Grade 4 referee, which is standard for this round of Open Cup, but being the only MLS vs MLS match and the fact that it was two of the fiercest rivals in the league it should have at the minimum been a Grade 3 PRO Referee in charge of this match. If you look at Bradford’s history, he really was not ready for an assignment like this. That isn’t his fault, but that of his employers USSF and PRO.
The next ludicrous part was announced Friday in New York when MLS Commissioner Don Garber issued a press release that Dempsey has been suspended for the next three matches of league play. Only three matches, huh? Well let’s take a look at the three Sounders matches which Dempsey will miss, the first one coming on Saturday against the San Jose Earthquakes. That will be follow by midweek action on Wednesday in Philadelphia against the Union, and then next Sunday in Portland against the Timbers. That the three matches.
So the reality is he’s only been suspended a week. Then it is believed he will fly off to join the US Men’s National Team for the CONCACAF Gold Cup. While some say he has done the time for his crime this writer finds it possible to both agree and disagree with the statement. Really only punishing him just long enough so he doesn’t miss any time with the USMNT seems like, in a way, he’s not being punished at all. It’s like a schoolteacher saying to child "here’s a timeout before recess, but yes you still get to go play when the bell rings". This punishment is little more than a slap on the wrist.
This writer's other issue with this is that it sets a really poor example for younger players who look up to him and see that if they don’t like the way an official is calling a match it's perfectly ok to just take his card or notebook and tear it up, and then receive a menial punishment over releasing some frustration. It sets a bad precedent for our younger players of the game, especially with some of the younger officials we have coming up. The reality is Bradford handled the situation very calmly and stepped back when Dempsey was going after him, a situation he should have never been in.
So far, if Dempsey was really sorry for what he has done he would have released an apology for his actions, something that no one has heard of yet. In it, he ought to explain to the kids that are his fans why this is not something that you should do. The video evidence is there, he can’t deny what he has done. He would be better off coming out and saying sorry rather than just staying as quiet as he has been.
But hey, that’s just one writer's opinion and, in the interest of complete honesty, this writer is a Seattle fan but he just doesn’t think this was taken as seriously as it should have been, and if you are a referee in Seattle, well you had better watch where you keep/place your notebook. Or else it could go missing like Bradford’s, flying off into the wind in a thousand tiny pieces.