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SBI Reader Poll: How long should Nigel de Jong be suspended?

Photo by Anne-Marie Sorvin/USA Today Sports
Photo by Anne-Marie Sorvin/USA Today Sports

MLS fans and followers have been clamoring for action in regards to Nigel de Jong’s challenge on Darlington Nagbe on Sunday, and the league will have to make an important decision this week regarding his eligibility for upcoming games.

In the 73rd minute of the LA Galaxy’s 1-1 tie with the Portland Timbers, De Jong used a studs-up tackle on Nagbe. The challenge forced the U.S. Men’s National Team midfielder off the field on a wheelchair following the game, and it has been the focus of talk across the nation since it happened.

The league has been cracking down on reckless challenges to start the 2016 season, and referees have issued multiple red cards over the past several weeks in the hopes of cleaning up the game and preventing injuries. De Jong only received a yellow card for the tackle, but many fans, followers and analysts are expecting the MLS Disciplinary Committee to issue the Galaxy midfielder a ban of at least one game.

De Jong has stated that it was not his intention to hurt Nagbe, but he also admitted his tackle was not 100 percent clean.

“I went over the ball a little bit and caught mostly his ankle,” De Jong said.

The league’s disciplinary committee has already handed out multiple suspensions through six weeks of action, including banning Brek Shea, Ronald Zubar and Christian Bolaños for serious foul play. The league even handed Vancouver Whitecaps forward Masato Kudo a one-game ban for embellishment.

A similar one-game ban for serious foul play could be expected for De Jong, but due to the Dutch midfielder’s history of strong challenges, MLS may decide to suspend him for longer.

With all that in mind, here is the SBI Question of the Day: How long should De Jong be suspended?

Cast your vote here, and feel free to share your vote, and reasoning, in the comments section below.

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Comments

  1. I have watched Nigel De Jong for quite a number of years. I have come to appreciate his brilliant soccer mind and his ability to control the tempo of a game as a holding midfielder. I have also seen him lose his mind and aim his tackle at the knee, chest or head of an opponent. That sort of tackle injured Holden. The Nagbe tackle was not that sort of tackle. He simply misjudged Nagbe’s ability and quickness like just about every other holding midfielder in the league.

    De Jong is also a player who will raise his physical play to the level of the game. If the ref lets a lot go, De Jong will increase his physical presence. The ref in this game let Van Damme and Borchers among others get a way dangerous challenges and De Jong increased the physicality of his own play as the game went on. He has a particular technique he uses to dispossess and opponent where he steps on the ball or just behind it and uses his hip to send the player flying. It always hurts because the player basically trips over the ball and runs into the hip. De Jong uses it to send messages. In my experience if he executes the tackle as intended (meaning he gets the ball), he gets a foul called about 60% of the time and of those calls about 30% end up being a yellow card.

    This time he was late and he didn’t step on the ball, he stepped on Nagbe’s ankle. He isn’t used to missing those tackles because he is usually not late in the challenge. His explanation reflects this, “It was 50-50 and normally I always have those balls.” Nagbe is just that good and De Jong is maybe not quite as quick as he once was.

    De Jong is capable of really awful tackles with intent to injure. As bad as this one was it didn’t look any worse than the tackle by Van Damme and the Borchers. About the same as the tackles that injured Javi Morales and David Ferrera a few years back. I would be fine with a 1-3 game suspension, and I expect De Jong would be fine with it as well. I hope Nagbe recovers soon.

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  2. i think it’s Nagbe’s fault for not getting out of the way!!! he lost the 50/50 challenge and than just stood there to get his let tapped not stomped through. You people are pussies and could have never handle seeing the greats like Gazza play!!

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  3. I don’t understand why players allow teammates to play like this. I was in the stands about 50′ away when Mullen destroyed Zakuani’s career on a lazy slide tackle in a just about meaingless midseason game. Neither of these instances were necessary defensive moments; they were just a lazy defender that knew he could not keep up with a dynamic attacker and instead of putting any effort into defending he decided to take him out. Van Damme was doing it earlier in the game too.. And it’s in way too many MLS games that I have seen.

    I hope MLS gives him a firm suspension based on Nagbe’s injury, if not they are sending a message that it’s a defensive tactic if you are too slow to get into position to stop a run or intercept a pass it’s okay to jeopardize a player’s career .. It’s just weak football that doesn’t benefit anyone..

    I am hoping for 5-10 games based on Nagbe’s injury, MLS to stop signing hacks like him, and continued barrage of red cards until defenders are forced to play another way.

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  4. Absolutely terrible foul by a guy who does this often. When he was brought here, the league knew what it was getting. They should act accordingly and shut him down a month before he manges to more damage! What happens when he goes out next month and breaks Dempseys leg? How would US and MLS soccer be reacting?

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  5. When he goes up after the game with the forced hug and apology it reminds me of an abusive partner. Sorry, I really won’t do it again this time. With his pattern, I’m really saddened it is welcomed into mls.

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  6. de Jong has a long history of ferocious, cynical, criminally offensive, murderous, ill intended, and grievously injurious tackles. He is a shameless hit-man with the heart of a cold blooded killer.
    I despise the man – he is all about what is the worst that can happen on a soccer pitch. I believe that should have been a straight red. I hope he gets a hefty fine and several games suspension, at the very least.

    Pray Nagbe is OK, and gets to play some more this season.

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  7. 3 games if its not broken. 10 games if it is. I think the severity of the injury is best indicative of the recklessness of the challenge. This is at least a bad foul warranting a red card and additional time, but it takes a lot to break a bone and its hard to know from the video the force involved.

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  8. Forever. That kind of shit is out of control.

    I really don’t know how anyone is defending it. It was a ridiculous attempt at playing.

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  9. I dont care if it was an accident or if he didnt cripple Nagbe. He needs a clear and heavy penalty so that he knows this is not acceptable.

    People pay money to see Nagbe plus he is a rising start. Nobody gives a damn if Nigel ever plays another game or not plus MLS has to protect players against hacks like him

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  10. OK. Nigel De Jong , a most hated player because of his past tackle on Stuart Holden, is involve in a tackle with the most fouled player in the league who goes down writhing in pain and goes off in a wheelchair. Review a slo-mo of the play and it shows Dejong making contact with the ball first, his foot going over the ball and landing on the lower leg of Nagbe who falls over DeJong writhing in pain. We see this all the time, players exaggerating, rolling around on the ground, looking like the will take their last breath real soon now. Then, by miracle they are up and playing. But we focus on the slo-mo of De Jongs foot coming down on the leg, a Big Ouch, but maybe nothing more. The Refs Yellow cards for an awkward tackle. Case closed.

    Social media chimes in, EVERYBODY recounts to Everybody else about how De Jong did this, did that. I hate this Guy! says some.

    So Nagbe goes off on a wheelchair with some saying its at least a broken tibia or ankle and we can all hope for just a severe sprain.

    Then we hear Nagbe gets on the plan walking, not limping, unassisted,, in street shoes.

    My question is this? Do we get a med update on Nagbe’s injury before or after the League suspends De Jong for four games for a “horror tackle”. and

    When are the Oscars.

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    • You’re full of it. Even if not broken and he’s walking on his own power (in a boot), that doesn’t mean he’s not injured at all and won’t miss time. Doesn’t make it less reckless or dirty of a tackle. No leg break luck, shouldn’t reduce his suspension either.

      Should have been a red and you’re giving way too much credit for “making contact with the ball” first, which he barely did, if really at all. And who goes in for the ball like that, anyway? Face it, it was a bad challenge and he’s lucky if Nagbe’s leg isn’t broken.

      Also, “making contact with the ball first” can still be a foul and is no excuse for dangerous play. Typical American gladiator fetish, if you really think this way.

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    • By the way, are you L.A. Riot Squad? For those of you who don’t know what I mean, see their Twitter feed after last nights match. Classless.

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  11. I’m not focused on his past and don’t think that should come into play. With that being said, that is one of the worst tackles I’ve ever seen. It was even worse than a sliding studs up tackle. I don’t know how people could say it wasn’t purposeful or at least as wreckless as can be. I vote for a 5 game ban, as if it matters. That was equal to a punch in the face, which I think it’s a 5 game ban if I’m remembering correctly.

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    • Came home in front of team, wearing a boot. X-Rays and tests in Portland today, results pending. Even if it’s not broken, he will still be out awhile is my guess. And if not broken, which may be the case, it would be luck that it’s not broken and de Jong still has to held accountable.

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  12. A great example of how far MLS still has to go in terms of officiating. In England, deJong would have been off in a flash and no one would have objected, not even his teammates. Sadly some American fans have become accustomed to watching the thuggish tackles in MLS for too long and think it is normal.
    This incident also undermines the notion that importing foreigners will somehow improve the game in the US. Frankly, we have more than enough home-grown thugs, we don’t need to import any.

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    • Shows how far the fan base has to go, too. My bet is that most think it should’ve been a red card, and that he deserves a suspension. But the comments taking the opposite view show exactly what you’re alluding to. Folks, this isn’t the NFL and MLS has only encouraged this sort of thing with their “physical” brand of soccer, and then making it worse by signing this fool.

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  13. Maybe this is hyperbolic, but it almost seems like a lynch mob mentality on this. De Jong is a dirty player so this must have been a dirty play, so string him up, seems to be the attitude. I have seen a lot of soccer over the last 40+ years and I have seen a lot worse yellow cards than this offense. Sometimes bad stuff happens. Anyone remember when Landon Donovan broke Ashley Cole’s leg? Not even a foul called, because it was a 50/50 ball and they both hit the ball at the same time and Cole got the worst of it. Nagbe almost ran into de Jong, faked him and de Jong missed on trying to hit the ball. That was all it was. I hope the review will be based on a careful review of the video and not on the outcry.

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  14. I’m afraid I’m in the minority on this one. Unfortunate, yes. Foul, yes. Yellow, yes. More? Not in my view. He was a little bit late when trying to get his foot between Nagbe’s foot and the ball. His cleats were pointing down. He caught the top of the ball. Yellow, for the force involved.

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  15. Would be just if he was suspended next time Galaxy play Timbers. I know that’s not how the system works, but other teams fighting for spots in the table get the advantage of his potential suspension rather than the team against which he committed the tackle.

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  16. 1 game. It looked unintentional to me, he was just late after a nifty move by Nagbe. Should be upped to a red. I don’t think it should be any more. His reputation outside the league should not be a factor for his first discipline within the league.

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    • What nifty move? He cut the ball to the left past Cole took two steps straight toward de Jong who proceeded to go studs up over the ball directly onto his ankle. He didn’t get faked out, he may have been trying to get the ball, but I don’t know if that’s any better. The ball was traveling in a straight line directly for de Jong and he went over it. It’s either malicious or he needs Lasik and probably shouldn’t be out on the field if he has that little control over his body.

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      • I’ll have to watch it again, but it looked like he megged him after faking he was going to go left but just let the ball continue straight. De Jong fell for the fake and planted on his ankle instead. Looked like he was going to where the ball was supposed to be based on Nagbe’s good body language fake.

  17. It looked more careless/reckless than intention to hurt to me… would be surprised if the disciplinary committee doesn’t upgrade it to a red though.

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  18. It was a very bad tackle, he should be suspended for several games. End of story. The exaggeration on this is ridiculous. If this were Will Johnson on Arturo Alvarez no one would even care.

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