http://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/blog/dirty-tackle/post/thierry-henry-red-carded-for-patting-opponent-8?urn=sow-wp2615
Thierry Henry red carded for patting opponentā??s head
Thierry Henry red carded for patting opponentā??s head
Thierry Henry scored his eighth goal of the season in [New York]e|redbulls 's 3-3 draw against Portland on Sunday, making him the league's top scorer (along with Landon Donovan). That was just the set-up for the joke that was his straight red card in injury time for giving the Timbers' Adam Moffat a firm pat on the back of the head (35 seconds into the video) out of frustration. Moffat responded by shoving Henry, but the two quickly seemed to resolve their dispute before the referee decided that he didn't like the initial touches.
Moffat was shown a yellow card and Henry a red for "violent conduct." Because those slaps to the back of the melon could've given Moffat a headache or something. Granted, Henry should not have made any kind of aggressive contact with Moffat's head, so a yellow for both players could have been justified. The ref obviously did not agree, though.
After the initial shock of the strangely harsh punishment wore off, Thierry reacted in Mourinho-esque fashion by shaking hands with his opponents and the referee before walking away.
Needless to say, [New York]e|redbulls was not happy with the decision and on Monday, sporting director Erik Soler ripped into the quality of MLS officiating on the team's official site :
A poll on MLSsoccer.com shows that more than 85 percent of readers agree with Soler that a red card for what Henry did was just plain wrong. But in a season that has already had heavy criticism for the league going soft on a rash of horror tackles that have caused devastating injuries to some of its top players, it almost seems to fit the league's sometimes bizarre logic that a pat on the head would actually be considered violent conduct and get one of MLS's biggest stars an automatic ban.
After seeing this, Davey Becks will now be far more careful about where he directs his Zoolander stares out of fear that it too could get him sent off for violent conduct.
Related: USA
