If you had Emilio Renteria, drink.
Major League Soccer announced the Disciplinary Committee’s first (and perhaps, only) suspension of the week, giving the Columbus forward a game off for head butting Sporting Kansas City midfielder Paulo Nagamura in Saturday’s loss at Crew Stadium.
It wasn’t the most flagrant head butt in the world, but like last week’s suspension, the punishment makes sense if the league’s trying to send a clear message:
This is exactly why the review system is in place. For whatever reason, Edvin Jurisevic and his crew didn’t give Renteria an obligatory red card, even though they acknowledged the foul with a yellow. I wonder if the color would have been different if Nagamura played up the contact.
Ultimately, the Disciplinary Committee set things right. Some will look at the contact as closer to no harm-no foul, but every player should be clear on head butting at this point, whether they agree with the rule or not.
Don’t do it, and if you do, you could see red. Even if it’s retroactive.