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
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