technical details
  1. is_video => false
  2. alias => "philadelphia\/\/philadelphia-union\/honest-haris-medunjanin-gets-dc-united-red-card-rescinded-fair-play"
  3. nid => "533196"
  4. title => "Honest Haris Medunjanin gets D.C. United red card rescinded with fair play"
  5. is_chrome_page => false
  6. article_body => "<p>CHESTER, Pa. -- Sportsmanship isn\u2019t dead.&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;<br>In the 74th minute of Saturday\u2019s 1-0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-union\">Union<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-union\/andre-blakes-shutout-helps-give-union-life-slump-busting-win-over-dc-united\" target=\"_blank\">win over D.C. United<\/a> at Talen Energy Stadium, Luciano Acosta knocked midfielder Haris Medunjanin out of bounds. Trekking in from midfield, referee Sorin Stoica immediately threw up the red card to eject the United's Acosta from the match.<br>&nbsp;<br>Moments later, play restarted with Acosta still in the game.&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;<br>\"All I know is I saw the red card, turned around and next thing I know is he\u2019s still on the field,\" Union center back Oguchi Onyewu said.&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;<br>The red card was pulled for what Stoica believed was Acosta kicking Medunjanin. Unaware that the referee could even rescind the card, the Union man honorably disputed the kick and Stoica pulled the ejection.<br>&nbsp;<br>\"I rescinded the card because [Medunjanin] stated that he was not kicked after the play, which was the initial decision I made,\" Stoica told a pool reporter.<br>&nbsp;<br>Medunjanin explained his side.<br>&nbsp;<br>\"I saw the red card and spoke with Acosta and he was saying that he didn\u2019t kick me,\" he said. \"I said I didn\u2019t feel it also. I went to the referee and he said, 'did he kick you?' and I said, 'no he didn\u2019t kick me, I think it was just a push.' That\u2019s why it was no red card for me.\"&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;<br>He then took a shot at New York Red Bulls player Felipe, who drew a red on the Union\u2019s Derrick Jones last Sunday in what the club believed was a dive.<br>&nbsp;<br>\"I hope Felipe was watching from last week,\" Medunjanin said. \"I wish he could say the same. I think you need to be honest and I felt like it was just a push.\"<\/p>\n<p>Union manager Jim Curtin, who admitted he may not have been so honorable in Medunjanin's position, was proud of his player.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\"It\u2019s not a red card, and I have to give a lot of credit to Haris,\" he said. \"He\u2019s a person that I respect a great deal. It\u2019s an incredible act. I think it\u2019s something you could show to not just young kids but also a lot of the adults that play in professional soccer because what he did is very honorable. It\u2019s the right thing to do.\"<br>&nbsp;<br>While fair play Medunjanin gained respect from Curtin and United coach Ben Olsen, who called him a \u201cclassy player and classy human being,\u201d he was grilled by his teammates, who found the scenario humorous.&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;<br>\"I don\u2019t know whose team Haris is on, I really don\u2019t,\" Onyewu said jokingly. \"I don\u2019t know if Haris and the referee or Haris and Acosta are actually best friends, I don\u2019t know. Maybe they are going out later tonight and they didn\u2019t want any bad tension?\"<br>&nbsp;<br>They also found it perplexing.<\/p>\n<p>\"I didn\u2019t think that was possible,\u201d Medunjanin said, a sentiment echoed by Onyewu. \u201cThe referee chose to do it so you need to respect that. I can talk now and be honest. Maybe if it was a draw, it would\u2019ve been a little different.\"<br>&nbsp;<br>But it happened and Medunjanin can walk away with three points and an unofficial award for being a class act.<\/p>\n<p>\"Everybody said thanks for the fair play,\u201d Medunjanin said. \u201cNice gesture of you and that\u2019s it. The coach came over to speak with me and I said, 'no problem this is football. We fight for the three points, but we need to be honest.'\"<\/p>\n"
  7. author => "Ryan Bright"
  8. mps => {"author":"Ryan Bright","league":"","sport":"","sponsor":""}
  9. published => "1498395600"
  10. created => "1498361076"
  11. changed => "1498396159"
  12. status => "1"
  13. hero_image_credit => "USA Today Images"
  14. tags => [{"tid":"14561","name":"Haris Medunjanin","url":"tags\/haris-medunjanin"},{"tid":"581","name":"Philadelphia Union","url":"tags\/philadelphia-union"},{"tid":"2826","name":"Ryan Bright","url":"tags\/ryan-bright"}]
  15. section => "Union"
  16. team => "Philadelphia Union"
  17. chrome_data => "{\"league\":\"\",\"sport\":\"\",\"sponsor\":\"\"}"
  18. image => {"uri":"public:\/\/archive\/assets_article\/philadelphia\/2017\/06\/25\/usa-haris-medunjanin.jpg","alt":"usa-haris-medunjanin.jpg","title":"Honest Haris Medunjanin gets D.C. United red card rescinded with fair play"}
  19. sponsor => ""
  20. region => "philadelphia"
  21. fb_url => "https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dialog\/share?app_id=1811037219016879&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nbcsports.com%2Fphiladelphia%2Fphiladelphia-union%2Fhonest-haris-medunjanin-gets-dc-united-red-card-rescinded-fair-play&display=popup"
  22. tw_url => "https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Honest%20Haris%20Medunjanin%20gets%20D.C.%20United%20red%20card%20rescinded%20with%20fair%20play&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nbcsports.com%2Fphiladelphia%2Fphiladelphia-union%2Fhonest-haris-medunjanin-gets-dc-united-red-card-rescinded-fair-play&original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nbcsports.com%2Fphiladelphia%2Fphiladelphia-union%2Fhonest-haris-medunjanin-gets-dc-united-red-card-rescinded-fair-play"
  23. mailto => "mailto:?subject=Honest%20Haris%20Medunjanin%20gets%20D.C.%20United%20red%20card%20rescinded%20with%20fair%20play&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nbcsports.com%2Fphiladelphia%2Fphiladelphia-union%2Fhonest-haris-medunjanin-gets-dc-united-red-card-rescinded-fair-play"
  24. tags_hide => []
  25. type => "article"
  26. meta => {"file":"\/mnt\/gfs\/rsnunited\/sites\/default\/files\/archive\/article\/philadelphia\/philadelphia-union\/honest-haris-medunjanin-gets-dc-united-red-card-rescinded-fair-play.json","assets":["public:\/\/archive\/assets_article\/philadelphia\/2017\/06\/25\/usa-haris-medunjanin.jpg"]}
  27. orig_image => {"uri":"public:\/\/2017\/06\/24\/usa-haris-medunjanin.jpg","alt":"usa-haris-medunjanin.jpg","title":"Honest Haris Medunjanin gets D.C. United red card rescinded with fair play"}
  28. article_type => "article"
Union

Union

CHESTER, Pa. -- Sportsmanship isn’t dead. 
 
In the 74th minute of Saturday’s 1-0 Union win over D.C. United at Talen Energy Stadium, Luciano Acosta knocked midfielder Haris Medunjanin out of bounds. Trekking in from midfield, referee Sorin Stoica immediately threw up the red card to eject the United's Acosta from the match.
 
Moments later, play restarted with Acosta still in the game. 
 
"All I know is I saw the red card, turned around and next thing I know is he’s still on the field," Union center back Oguchi Onyewu said. 
 
The red card was pulled for what Stoica believed was Acosta kicking Medunjanin. Unaware that the referee could even rescind the card, the Union man honorably disputed the kick and Stoica pulled the ejection.
 
"I rescinded the card because [Medunjanin] stated that he was not kicked after the play, which was the initial decision I made," Stoica told a pool reporter.
 
Medunjanin explained his side.
 
"I saw the red card and spoke with Acosta and he was saying that he didn’t kick me," he said. "I said I didn’t feel it also. I went to the referee and he said, 'did he kick you?' and I said, 'no he didn’t kick me, I think it was just a push.' That’s why it was no red card for me." 
 
He then took a shot at New York Red Bulls player Felipe, who drew a red on the Union’s Derrick Jones last Sunday in what the club believed was a dive.
 
"I hope Felipe was watching from last week," Medunjanin said. "I wish he could say the same. I think you need to be honest and I felt like it was just a push."

 

Union manager Jim Curtin, who admitted he may not have been so honorable in Medunjanin's position, was proud of his player. 

"It’s not a red card, and I have to give a lot of credit to Haris," he said. "He’s a person that I respect a great deal. It’s an incredible act. I think it’s something you could show to not just young kids but also a lot of the adults that play in professional soccer because what he did is very honorable. It’s the right thing to do."
 
While fair play Medunjanin gained respect from Curtin and United coach Ben Olsen, who called him a “classy player and classy human being,” he was grilled by his teammates, who found the scenario humorous. 
 
"I don’t know whose team Haris is on, I really don’t," Onyewu said jokingly. "I don’t know if Haris and the referee or Haris and Acosta are actually best friends, I don’t know. Maybe they are going out later tonight and they didn’t want any bad tension?"
 
They also found it perplexing.

"I didn’t think that was possible,” Medunjanin said, a sentiment echoed by Onyewu. “The referee chose to do it so you need to respect that. I can talk now and be honest. Maybe if it was a draw, it would’ve been a little different."
 
But it happened and Medunjanin can walk away with three points and an unofficial award for being a class act.

"Everybody said thanks for the fair play,” Medunjanin said. “Nice gesture of you and that’s it. The coach came over to speak with me and I said, 'no problem this is football. We fight for the three points, but we need to be honest.'"