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SBI Question of the Day: What’s your reaction to De Jong red card?

Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/USA Today Sports
Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/USA Today Sports

By now MLS is well aware of Nigel de Jong, specifically his physical and sometimes violent temperament on the field. The veteran Dutch midfielder made headlines once again on Monday night, earning himself a straight red card for a late challenge on Vancouver Whitecaps attacker Blas Perez.

The tackle was certainly unwarranted, particularly with the Galaxy nursing a two-goal advantage with under 20 minutes remaining, but does De Jong’s track record of malicious behavior play into the reaction received in the tackle’s aftermath?

When Perez received the ball with his back towards the Galaxy net, De Jong quickly closed the Whitecaps forward down and appeared to make contact to the back of the Panamanian’s head. The 31-year-old then proceeded to make a reckless attempt on Perez, who was still in possession, and came nowhere near the ball. Referee Robert Sibiga initially pulled out a yellow card before retracting the caution and providing De Jong with his marching orders.

The red card is De Jong’s first since joining MLS this season, despite earning a multi-game suspension from the league’s Disciplinary Committee back in April for a rash standing tackle on Portland Timbers midfielder Darlington Nagbe.

In the past, De Jong has made waves on the international scene for his dangerous play, including fracturing the leg of former U.S. international Stuart Holden back in a 2010 international friendly. De Jong also received a controversial yellow card during the same year at the FIFA World Cup in South Africa after cleating Spain’s Xabi Alonso across the chest in the tournament’s title match.

Here is De Jong’s challenge on Perez:

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What did you make of De Jong’s challenge? What kind of additional punishment, if any, do you expect? How should the league handle the incident and any further that arise?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. no kidding- de Jong hunts Perez down with the intention to maim or kill. F#%* this guy – like we needed another reason to hate LA

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  2. Brutal. Absolutely brutal. Either his intent was malicious or he’s not the skilled player some want to make him out to be…either way he needs a long suspension.

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  3. red for sure. what’s even more damning is that it was a retaliation, he’d just gotten accidentally hit in the face by Perez and then lashed out like this

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  4. And btw, if Perez’s right foot is planted on ground when De Jong’s foot strikes him, then we are talking about ankle bones shattered and probably career ending injury. Sure he will get a suspension for a few games, but at this point some sort of retaliation is long over due. Players also need to handle this on the field.

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  5. I didn’t see the game, and this clip is the first time I saw the tackle. At first I thought, “oh ok, it was just a yellow and he got the red for saying something stupid to the ref. So what’s the big deal?” But yeah, the replay is pretty damning, and the Galaxy are my team, so I’m trying to see this as positively as possible.

    I’ve seen 4-5 of the LAG games featuring DeJong this season, and he’s actually a very skilled, very tenacious player. He’s like Jermaine Jones, but way more skilled and effective. But as JJ has matured in the past 4 years and is much more controlled in his challenges, it seems like DeJong is only getting more reckless (maybe with age, he’s losing his speed and become even more of a hack? We’ve certainly all seen that in men’s leagues across the country…).

    I don’t know that this deserves more than the standard one-game suspension, but I have a feeling MLS will deal with it harshly. On balance, his positive attributes (and I think there are plenty) are being eclipsed by his reckless play. Not exactly the image the LAG should be pushing.

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  6. I defended De Jong over the outrage for his tackle on Nagbe. That wasn’t deserving of suspension and was probably borderline Red card in my opinion. But this tackle was much worse. Clearly, it deserves a suspension. Incredibly reckless flying slide tackle that went studs up for an ankle and was not close to the ball. 1 game, maybe 3.

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  7. Couldn’t be a clearer red card. The question in my mind is did he intend to hurt Perez. To me it appeared he had no interest in challenging for the ball. Cut ties before someone gets really hurt.

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  8. Classic red-card tackle. No “reputation adjuster” required. This guy is going to break another leg before his MLS days are over.

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  9. This is totally surprising. No one could have seen this coming. I mean he’s a true paragon of clean play. This type of tackle is so unlike him. /s

    In all seriousness, I haven’t watched a single Galaxy game since he was signed, and I won’t until he’s gone. Guy has no business playing professionally.

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