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Thursday Kickoff: Jones under fire, Suarez appealing ban and more

Jones (Getty Images)

U.S. national team midfielder Jermaine Jones could be facing some disciplinary action in the coming days.  

Jones is reportedly under investigation by the German Football Federation for allegedly stepping on an opposing player's injured foot on purpose during Schalke's 3-1 loss to Borussia Monchengladbach in the German Cup Round of 16 on Wednesday.

Jones, who was sent off in second-half stoppage time for picking up his second yellow card of the match — and his eighth in as many matches in all club competitions — was caught by television cameras stepping on Marco Reus' left foot in the sixth minute of the match while Reus was holding the ball after a foul call and arguing with the referee.

Reus, who scored twice in the game, was playing with a broken toe and wearing a special shoe designed to protect the foot.

Here are a few more stories to get your Thursday going:

SUAREZ APPEALING BAN

Luis Suarez maintains his innocence, and he's willing to risk receiving an even larger punishment than what he has already received to try and prove that.

After being suspended eight games and fined £40,000 by the FA for making racist remarks to Manchester United's Patrice Evra, Suarez is preparing to appeal the ban. By doing so, the Liverpool striker could face an even harsher penalty, as the FA reserves the right to increase its sentence after the appeal hearing.

In a show of solidarity, Liverpool players wore Suarez T-shirts while warming up before Wednesday's 0-0 draw with Wigan Athletic, a match that Suarez started. The club's players and technical staff have all been outspoken in Suarez' defense since the FA's ruling came down on Tuesday. 

JONES, YOUNG HIT UNITED INFIRMARY

Manchester United's long list of injured players grew by two Wednesday, as summer transfers Phil Jones and Ashley Young both got injured in the club's 5-0 victory over Fulham.

Jones took a Clint Dempsey elbow to the face during an aerial challenge in the opening minutes and had to come off soon after. He is set to have X-rays on his face, with the hope that neither his jaw nor cheekbone is broken. Early fears, though, have Jones missing the next six weeks of action.

Young come on as a substitute for Jones but didn't last much longer, as he was forced off just before the hour mark with a knee injury after a hard challenge. He is expected to miss up to three weeks.

ARSENAL PUSHES BACK BOXING DAY GAME

The threat of a London subway strike has caused Arsenal to move its Boxing Day fixture against Wolves slated for Monday back a day.

In a statement on Arsenal's website, the club wrote, "In addition to the proposed industrial action on London Underground on Boxing Day, there would also have been no services operating on overground train services into London on this day. Also, normal parking restrictions close to the stadium would have still applied. This would have caused severe disruption, or at worst, inability for supporters or matchday employees and workers to get to Emirates Stadium."

Other London clubs aren't necessarily taking the same course of action. Chelsea, which would also be affected by the strike, has announced that it will go ahead as scheduled with its match against London rival Fulham.

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What do you make of the Jones situation? What's your take on how Suarez and Liverpool have handled themsleves after the FA's decision? Think United is in trouble considering its injured list?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Jones had to get 2 yellow cards, he was behind in his average of one per game.

    I think defensive mids are called upon to take one for the team on occassion, but Jones seems to be in that position too often.

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  2. Dempsey had his elbow up in a defensive position and was jumping straight up to play the ball, Jones charged from 5 yards away and launched himself at Dempsey. If there was a foul, it was Jones who committed it.

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  3. He’s waiting for Reus to drop the ball, everyone is. On my ESPN replay Raul may have stepped on his right boot also. Anyway Reus runs away after arguing and plays superbly for 84 more minutes.

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  4. I watched the incident 4 times. There was no stomp in my video. Jones may have stepped on Reus’ boot, intentional or not, it did no harm. After complaining about the Raul call, Reus runs off without a hitch, and does so for the next 84 minutes. The officiating was poor neither red card was deserved. Reus did more complaining than anyone on the pitch. Jones played as the lone DM, an old time sweeper, and wasn’t bad.

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  5. Comargo should have been carded. From the other video Jones doesn’t appear to put any weight on Reus’ foot. It appears from these two short clips that Gladbach was trying hard to get him carded. He really doesn’t need all those theatrics.

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  6. Dempsey also punched Joe Franchino during practice haha.

    Great for Jones to be starting for a very good Schalke team but IMO dude is not that impressive. Skilled, with defensive bite but too out of control (offensively and defensively).

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  7. I’m a huge fan of Clint but I can’t defend what he did to Jones yesterday. He is not a dirty player, but anyone is capable of a dirty play.

    also f*** John Terry

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  8. Don’t mess with Dempsey. I think he broke fellow US National teamer Jimmy Conrad’s jaw in practice!

    Watch the 2002 US World Cup DVD … there’s a segment where Hejduk was telling a young Donavan to keep his elbows up to protect himself, great advise!

    I think you need someone like Jones as your defensive midfielder, kind of like an enforcer. de Jong would think twice before tackling like that against Jones.

    Klinsmann wanted some guys with some nastiness …

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  9. jones is crazy. he’s a bit a a liability but if i was on the other team, i would be scared to death to win a 50/50 ball in the middle of the park against that guy. a bit of a mental edge for us.

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  10. I read on twitter that Klinsy is going to announce the January camp roster today. Definitely a bit of an xmas present from the Federation instead of making us wait extremely long just to find out the roster as we usually have to.

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  11. it seemed intentional. he runs up to the guy, looks down at reus’ foot and jones’ foot comes down at a weird angle (not straight down as if he’s taking a step).

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  12. Pretty innocuous to me. I saw no ill intentions at all in this. In todays age of camera angles everywhere, I guess you can interpret things how you want but I didn’t see a big deal in what Jones did at all.

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  13. Manager said he wasnt in their plans, hence the trip to AV. Although if he stuck it out who knows what would have happened with the new manager. But once he returned, the new manager said they planned without him.

    However, i dont think Bradley is too distraught. He’s seeing consistent playing time with Chievo and while it may not be a CL contender, Chievo is merely a stepping stone to get his career back rolling from the first half of this year.

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  14. I don’t see anything but a confrontation, nothing that shows the foot stomping. Perhaps I missed it, what time on the highlights was it?

    He may get off and no additional suspension without some better video evidence.

    Regardless, Schalke’s results have turned around with the new manager and JJ’s play in midfield.

    Anyway, I like him and the USMNT is better with him. Not young or a every game starter but he brings some good qualities to the table.

    Thanks,

    Randy

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  15. Here is a link to a video that shows Jones stomping on Reus’s foot, happens at 35 seconds on the video. Not cool at all. Marco Reus is one of the best attacking midfielders in the Bundesliga, a fearless player who appears headed for top spot on the German National Team. On another note, M’Gladbach just keeps on winning, might be heading for the Champions League next year. I wonder if Michael Bradley regrets leaving for Chievo via Aston Villa.

    Here’s the video of Jones stomping on Reus.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33zQiY6Vim4

    Reply

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