By SBI SOCCER
Dom Dwyer is a free man. Well, at least he’s free to play in Sporting Kansas City’s next match.
Dwyer has had the red card he drew in Sporting KC’s loss to Orlando City rescinded. The questionable call came after an exchange between Dwyer and defender David Mateos. Replays clearly showed Dwyer push Mateos with his chest, only for the Orlando City to fall into a heap clutching his face.
The rescinding of Dwyer’s red card makes him available for Sporting KC’s match against FC Dallas on Friday.
Here are some more of Tuesday’s MLS news and notes:
TOYOTA STADIUM COULD BE HOME TO NATIONAL HALL OF FAME
FC Dallas is looking to add a special landmark to the club’s home of Toyota Stadium.
The Dallas Morning News reported Tuesday that the facility could house the National Soccer Hall of Fame following a vote by the Frisco City Council for $39 million worth of improvements at Toyota Stadium.
Proposed improvements also include renovations to locker rooms, upgrades to video and audio technology, expansion on the suite level and a canopy roof for the south endline seating.
The National Soccer Hall of Fame was previously located in Oneonta, N.Y., but closed in 2010 due to financial struggles. It’s collection, which counted over 80,000 items, is currently placed in storage.
DROGBA, PIATTI AMONG STARTERS TO BE RESTED BY IMPACT
The Montreal Impact lineup for Wednesday’s clash with the San Jose Earthquakes will be slightly less star-studded than usual.
La Presse reported Tuesday that Didier Drogba, Ignacio Piatti, Evan Bush, Justin Mapp, Marco Donadel and Laurent Ciman will all miss out on Wednesday’s contest at the Earthquakes’ Avaya Stadium.
Mapp is set to miss out due to a foot injury suffered in last Saturday’s draw with the LA Galaxy, while Ciman is forced to sit due to suspension. The rest, meanwhile, will miss out as interim manager Mauro Biello looks to rest his squad ahead of a crucial clash against fellow Eastern Conference contenders in the New England Revolution.
NYCFC’S VELASQUEZ ENTERS SUBSTANCE ABUSE PROGRAM
New York City FC midfielder Sebastian Velasquez is set to miss time to handle some off-the-field issues.
The club announced Monday that Velasquez has entered he Major League Soccer Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health (SABH) Program. As such, Velasquez will be ineligible to participate in any team activities until he is cleared for participation by the SABH Program doctors.
“New York City FC are working closely with the league, the players union and Sebastian Velasquez on this matter and will continue to work in cooperation with all involved parties and follow all appropriate procedures,” said NYCFC Sporting Director Claudio Reyna. “At this time the club has no further comment.”
Velasquez has appeared in 12 games, starting five, for NYCFC this season and most recently featured off the bench in a trio of games in August.
—
What do you think of these developments? Think Dwyer deserved a red card, or are you happy to see his red card rescinded? Would you suspend Mateos for playacting? Think Montreal is playing with fire by resting so many starters, or see it as a wise move?
Share your thoughts below.
The embellishment was shameful, and probably deserves to be punished, but is there a plausible argument that Dwyer’s pretty forceful chest bump constituted violent conduct? The silly “hands to the face” act aside, was the bump enough to bring Mateos down?
That stadium needs a roof.
And a canopy roof over only one of the endlines, and no roof around the rest, sounds a bit clumsy to me.
Glad the Hall of Fame is finding a new home. I like the way Toyota Stadium is built into the ground – unique, fun stadium and look forward to visiting again; it would be great to package tickets to a FC Dallas and HOF visit as one.
They would only have to do it a couple of times and guys would get the message. The Flop has to stop!
If Dwyer had his red card rescinded then I want it to go to Mateos for embellishment!
Mateos needs to be suspended for at least 1 game, if not 2. There is no place for that behavior in this league.
“Mateos needs to be suspended for at least 1 game, if not 2. There is no place for that behavior in this league.”
my thoughts exactly! I would impose a “virtual ” red card on him and make him sit out the next game. rather disgusting behavior!’
Exactly. IF the league can rescind a red card they can impose a one match ban for the antics of Mateos. THEN perhaps the players will get the message.
Toyota Stadium/Pizza Hut Park/whatever else it’s been was a good SSS when it was first built, but with everyone getting on the new stadium bandwagon, and attendance figures looking set to outgrow available seating in the next few years, I’m very excited to see a renovated facility.
Really, they should be looking to build a new facility a little more centrally located in the Metroplex…Frisco is at the very NE corner of the Metroplex and is a good 30 minutes away from the DFW airport, which is the center of the DFW Metroplex, with no traffic. If you live on the south side of Ft. Worth, you’re looking at close to or more than an hour drive in ideal conditions.
Yup. In the early days, it was just about getting a stadium, period. None of the owners could have predicted the kind of growth the league has made in such a short time frame. Even if they wanted a better location, the Hunt Group at that time wouldn’t have been able to sell the city on the idea of a stadium for soccer inside the city proper, at least not without a ridiculous premium. At least with the National Soccer Hall of Fame on location, they can make the best of what they have in Frisco for the time being. Maybe two or three decades down the road, a relocation will be economically reasonable for all relevant parties…
Normally, a stadium is amortized over a 20 year period. If a team chooses to do a rebuild, you’ll have to talk to whoever is financing, or if self-financed, you’ll have to redo forward and backward projections. I believe 2025 would be 20 years, which is only 10 years away. It will take about 2 years to find a good place, about a year for architecture, planning and entitlements and about 2 year build time. Of course all that can be compressed, but in five years time, Dallas could be on a search for a new home.
Well, as terrible of an idea as it sounds to place the HoF at Toyata Stadium, in this case beggars can’t be choosers… And it’s a small step up from being boxed up in storage…