Dru Yearwood could be heading toward a longer suspension. (Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports)
By Michael Lewis
FrontRowSoccer.com Editor
I promised myself I would give it a day or two to sink in, so I wouldn’t make a rash reaction and post it.
As it turns out, my opinion hasn’t changed at all.
Dru Yearwood deserves a multi-game suspension for what transpired during stoppage time of the Red Bulls’ 2-0 loss to the Philadelphia Union at Red Bull Arena on Saturday night.
In frustration, Yearwood kicked a ball into the stands and hit a spectator – a Red Bulls supporter.
Not exactly the smartest thing to do.
Now, Yearwood happens to be a nice guy in which his frustration and emotions got to him. When he realized what he did, Yearwood and hopped into the stands to apologize, although fans were having nothing to do with it.
Yearwood, who was red carded – and rightfully so – apologized for his conduct via Twitter, which was the right thing to do.
But that doesn’t exonerate him from the awful incident.
If the MLS disciplinary committee has any clout, it should suspend Yearwood for an additional game or two.
Now, with the Red Bulls in the midst of their stretch run for the playoffs, they need as many hands and feet on deck.
But I’ll use another incident, which even involved another Red Bulls midfielder, Kaku, as precedent. That occurred in Kansas City, Kansas in 2019. The Paraguayan international was sanctioned for reckless misconduct of kicking the ball into the sideline stands during stoppage time of the 2-2 draw at Sporting Kansas City that April 14. The ball hit a fan in the face and broke his nose.
Kaku was slapped with an additional two-game ban to got with his red-card suspension. He also was issued an undisclosed fine by the disciplinary committee.
Regardless of any injury, Yearwood should be sanctioned with a similar punishment.
And the Kaku and Yearwood incidents should be used as a lesson for players in the future not to drill a ball into the stands.
