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MLS Ticker: Petke rant earns him hefty fine; Joseph, Bernardez suspended two matches; and more

Mike Petke

Photo by ISIPhotos.com

By DAN KARELL

When New York Red Bulls manager Mike Petke gave his opinion of the referees performances during his side’s 2-2 draw with the Columbus Crew last Sunday, it was a calculated decision, one that he knew would come with a fine.

On Friday, the Major League Soccer Disciplinary Committee put a price on Petke’s rant, costing him $2,000 for “public criticism of the officials.”

The former Metrostars and Red Bulls player was upset about a controversial penalty called in the 73rd minute, which ended up giving the visiting Crew a 2-1 lead at the time.

“That’s a guy [the referee], in my estimation, who is probably getting ready for the Memorial Day weekend, and wants to be part of the show,” Petke said last Sunday. “I could care less what the league fines me, and what they say. Those decisions, those type of things, cost jobs.”

Here are some more stories from around the MLS:

JOSEPH, BERNARDEZ SUSPENDED TWO MATCHES

It was bad enough when the Seattle Sounders were losing on the road, 4-0, in the first half to the Los Angeles Galaxy last Sunday, but adding insult to injury, Sounders designated player Shalrie Joseph was given his marching orders in the 87th minute for shoving Galaxy midfielder Marcelo Sarvas in the face.

On Friday, Joseph learned that he would be missing an additional match, after the Disciplinary Committee deemed the play worth of a “violent conduct” charge. With the two-match suspension, the earliest Joseph can return is June 22 at Real Salt Lake.

Also receiving a suspension was San Jose Earthquakes defender Victor Bernardez, who was given a two-match ban for endangering the safety of an opponent. Bernardez collided with FC Dallas forward Kenny Cooper in a challenge along the sideline, eventually kicking the back of Cooper’s head and giving him a concussion.

Bernardez, who only received a yellow card on the play, will be eligeable to return to the field on June 22 at D.C. United.

KOEVERMANS SUFFERS SETBACK

Earlier this week in training, Toronto FC forward Danny Koevermans suffered what manager Ryan Nelsen called a “minor injury” but one nonetheless that could hold him out of his season debut.

Koevermans hasn’t played since July 15 of last year, suffering a torn ACL in a match against the New England Revolution. Last week, Koevermans, who played 45 minutes of reserve team soccer, targeted Toronto’s June 1 match against the Philadelphia Union as his debut date.

“He twinged his other knee, so he’s in doubt,” manager Ryan Nelsen said on Tuesday to the Toronto Star. “It’s a really minor thing.”

If Koevermans doesn’t play on Saturday, the next time he could take the field would be on June 15 at D.C. United.

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What do you make of these stories? Do you believe Petke’s fine is fair? Agree with the Joseph and Bernardez suspensions? Still think we could see Koevermans play this Saturday?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Is the disciplinary committee making sure Bernardez won’t be able to serve his suspension while away on duty with Honduras?

    Seems only fair since they did it to Brek Shea last season, and kicking a ball at a ref is pretty innocuous compared to intentionally kicking someone in the head and giving them a concussion.

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  2. I don’t like the DC stepping in to give two game suspensions when the original foul should have only warranted a red card and one game suspension. Tossing around two games suspensions like candy on a weekly basis to multiple players is a freaking joke. If you were incredibly cynical you might believe it is veiled opportunity to bring more parity to the league.

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  3. I think that the worst issue with what Petke said is not that he is wrong, but what he said. It does not matter that the attacker misplayed the ball. The defender comes in from behind and commits a foul while the ball is in play. My bigger issue is with attacking the person of the referee, stating that he just wants to be the center of attention and was just looking forward to Memorial Day. These are lazy personal attacks that avoid creating any dialogue about the actual play. Imagine if every time Red Bulls lost people said it was because the players and coaches simply did not care. It sure would not lead to any good analysis.

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  4. Bernardez doesn’t like to miss opportunities to crack people. darn good player nontheless. Yallop doesn’t seem to mind too much

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  5. So what kind of “allowance” do MLS teams give their coaches on these fines? Any guesses? 0%? 100% up to a certain amount?

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  6. I think I might rejoice if I’m a Sounders fan. I still can’t figure out what the organization saw in the trade for him at that price.

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    • They are barely playing anything and moved up in allocation order. Unless we had another DP lined up, it wasn’t a horrible deal.

      Now does anyone want a 35 year old DP so we can get a DP who can lead the offense in the middle? lol Ugh.

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    • Just goes to show what a sorry state Chivas are in, that Shalrie Joseph is their highest paid player this year, and they have to give up the #3 allocation spot for the privilege of not having him on the team.

      The problem for the Sounders is he’s not shown to be worth even the portion of his salary they are paying. He was atrocious against LA. Hope that allocation works out.

      Reply

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