The U.S. Men’s National Team won’t kick off more World Cup qualifying matches until March, and one opposing star for Guatemala might already be ruled out for those two meetings.
According to Goal.com, the disciplinary body of Guatemala’s top league, Liga Nacional de Futbol de Guatemala, announced that Carlos Ruiz will be suspended six months. He and his club, Municipal, are appealing the decision, but should the ban be upheld, he will miss Guatemala’s two contests with the USMNT in March.
Ruiz was shown a yellow card in a scoreless tie with Municipal on Wednesday, and then struck the referee. After subsequently being shown a red card he charged the official but was restrained before contact. The appeal is expected to be heard on Dec. 7.
“Municipal is going to appeal the sanction, I don’t have anything else to say,” Ruiz told reporters on Friday. “Yesterday I aid I apologized for my actions that weren’t exemplary, but if that’s the sanction, I’ll have to accept it. I’m going to wait on the club’s appeal, while that happens, I’ll wait for the final resolution and we’ll see what happens after that.”
The 36-year-old forward is still a first-choice option for Guatemala.
The USMNT and Trinidad & Tobago each have four points after two games, while Guatemala has three points through the same amount. The Americans will travel for the first contest on March 25 before playing at MAPFRE Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, four days later.
Here is Ruiz’s reaction from Wednesday’s game:
¿Fue correcta la expulsión del Pescado en el juego contra @AntiguaOficial? Participa con nosotros en #Deportes911 pic.twitter.com/mpgm7nMf04
— Antigua Sports (@antiguasports) November 26, 2015
Think Ruiz’s absence will benefit the USMNT? Should Ruiz be suspended for six months?
Share your thoughts below.
I hope Jozy Altidore is NOT on USMNT roster too!
I might be wrong but I think their season is over so it might not be all that much game wise.
I don’t know how much the ref is at fault there, he loses his cool after he’s struck by Ruiz but regains it pretty quickly. I would guess it will be lessened on appeal, unless there are incidents of striking a ref in the past.
That’s longer than Hope Solo and Dempsey combined
Let’s not link tearing the ref’s notebook with domestic violence and taking the team van drinking and letting your drunk husband drive it home.
Stay classy, Carlos…
I don’t condone his actions at all, but that ref so desperately wants attention. Makes me want to start a cheer for refs like that:
Your not famous
Clap clap…clap clap clap
Six months across all competitions seems a little rough, but maybe he has a lot of these kind of incidents in the league this year. That said, it looks like he’s played in all but one of his team’s games and has been a serious contributor.
Ruiz does himself no favors with the character he’s displayed throughout his career. With that said, I absolutely hate when refs make a point to get in the face of athletes.
That doesn’t excuse Ruiz, but that ref instigated that entire situation.