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Bobby Wood given three-match suspension

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Bobby Wood’s recent red card has earned the Hamburg forward a lengthy ban.

The DFB announced on Tuesday that Wood has been suspended three games for violent conduct after elbowing Cologne defender Dominique Heintz. Wood has 24 hours to file an appeal with the federation.

As a result, Wood is set to miss clashes with Borussia Dortmund, Hoffenheim and Werder Bremen.

Wood has scored Hamburg’s only two goals this season. However, his dismissal earned the ire of Hamburg coach Markus Gisdol, who called the elbow “inexcusable”.

What do you think of the suspension? Does the punishment match the offense?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. There have been 12 straight red cards in the Bundesliga this season. 10 out of 12 were suspended for more than one game. Only one player receiving a straight red was German (he was suspended for 2 games). Odd considering the number of foreign players in the Bundesliga is around 20-25%, yet they make up 92% of the red cards. The two players who received the minimum one game bans were French and Dutch. The US is the only country with more than one straight red card, Germany has the most 2nd yellows with 4 players sent off.

    Players with 3 or more yellow cards this season 15 German (58%)11 Foreign (42%)

    Emre Mor received a two match ban even after the player he pushed admitted post match that he embellished and that the push didn’t deserve even a red card. The committee still enforced a two match ban on Mor and did not punish Langkamp for what he called an “exaggeration.”

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  2. While it was weak, and the player flopped, it was also pretty dumb. Hamburg need ever point they can get, if they want any chance at staying up. While those hit take place all the time, you’re still giving the ref and opportunity for the ref to make a call. The 3 matches I don’t get, but maybe they want to make an example of it.

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    • I watch the Bundesliga more than any other league and seldom is a red card only one game. Mor for Dortmund got 2 games for his two handed shove of a guy who did a similar I’ve been shot act ( the guy outweighed him by 75 pounds too). AJ got two games for using the F word. I can’t remember a player only getting a one game suspension for a straight red this season, but I only really track the teams with Americans on them. Interesting my three examples are all foreigners might have to investigate more now.

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  3. Who’s to say wood didn’t receive an elbow to the kidney region, which provoked a simple defensive response on his part – a tempered response, as well. I think it’s complete and utter nonsense.

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  4. I am fine with the red and I guess i understand the 3 match suspension for the intention behind the elbow. However the other player should get some kind of suspension for the clear flop/embellishment of contact.

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  5. The red card is a little rough, but understandable. Retaliation should absolutely be punished.

    I have to wonder though, did they even watch the video before handing out the 3 game ban? It’s one thing to make a decision on the field, but when you have the hindsight of multiple views and slo-mo it becomes pretty obvious that there was some intense embellishment going on there. It’s not as if he turned and gave the guy a round-house to the side of the head – he barely tapped him.

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  6. On the flip side…Wood will be well rested for Mexico! Unfortunate, he got baited into something and he should know better. I don’t think the Act was all that egregious but it was certainly stupid.

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  7. The worst part of it is the manager who already appeared to not like him will try to use this as an excuse not to play him once the suspension is over.

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    • I think you mean the bad thing is that it will give someone else an opportunity to step up as the goal threat. If three games come and go with no goals, manager will have to play him or lose his job (and probably lose his job anyway)

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      • He had already been benched by this new manager when no one else had scored. He only got his starting spot back after scoring twice in the first half of the Cup match.

  8. don’t the rules of the game say you are permitted to use your shoulder but not strike an opponent? how is anyone arguing A) that it’s a red card B) the suspension?

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    • no argument on the red card. but 3 games is mostly because the German federation just got a massive bribe from the Mexican Federation!!! obviously

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      • It doesn’t effect his eligibility for qualifiers, he’ll just miss the one match this weekend so I don’t think it will effect his fitness.

    • I never understand the people who read straight out of the rule book and take everything literally. Are games called differently at different times of the game, based on circumstance? Less calls in most sports at the end of a tight game? Yes, of course. Similar situation here.

      Rules should be a liberal guideline for officials. That elbow is a yellow card, a stern talking to, and clearly no suspension.

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      • The rules are supposed to be taken literally. If they don’t it’s because refs are human and either made an honest mistake or felt the pressure of a situation and let it get to them.

        The only thing that is clear is that fans will always want the ref to make the decision that benefits their team or player and will be outraged otherwise. It’s fair to get mad about the 3 game suspension but the red card was not a bad call.

  9. Glad people are echoing my thoughts here, cuz I just saw that play and can’t even believe it’s a red. I gave out worse shots in grade school soccer/basketball. What a joke. That’s basically an NFL call.

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  10. Total BS. this shouldn’t have been a red in the first place, let alone lead to additional games missed. I can’t understand how a light jab with the elbow can be punished this way. This kind of play happens 100 time a game, every game, especially during corner kicks.

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    • 1. Definitely a red. The red isn’t for the force behind the elbow but for its deliberate intention.

      2. Intentional elbows to the gut don’t happen on every corner kick as you say, they rarely happen at all at any point in a match.

      3. If it wasn’t a US international or a player you root for, I’m willing to bet you wouldn’t think this is bs.

      4. The suspension length is harsh. He definitely deserved a one game suspension but 2 or 3 is very debatable.

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      • So bottom line, you pretty much arrive at the same conclusion as I do: That 3 games is too harsh.

        But I disagree with you that this kind of thing doesn’t happen during corner kicks. There is shoving, bear-hugging, foot-stomping, and just about anything else to immobilize or simply aggravate the opponent. And the force of the elbow does matter. Light physical contact is permitted and goes unpunished all the time; it’s the hard fouls that draw 99% of the yellow and reds. Yes, a light slap to the face or simulated head butt gets red-carded these days, as it should. But what Wood did was so minute, it’s shocking it got carded.

        One more thought, if the Bundesliga officials punished Wood this dramatically, why did they not punish the simulation? That flop was embarrassing. I get that in the heat of the game, it’s tough to gauge how much he embellished, but the video replay leaves no question the defender should be punished.

      • Yes I agree 3 games is too harsh but I was not surprised that’s what he got. My response was more about when you said “this shouldn’t have been a red in the first place”. It definitely should have been a red. And yes players should also be penalized for embellishing, although I will say that it doesn’t take much force to cause alot of pain when hit in the stomach. Getting the air knocked out of you can easily happen with what Wood did there.

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