Everyone who follows MLS has known for two years that Steven Lenhart is the league’s No. 1 agitator, a marginally talented player who gets the most of his ability through fouling and frustrating and exploiting the league’s lenient officiating.
Well, everyone except MLS referees, that is. And the disciplinary committee has been slow to close the loop on this one, too. All parties have too frequently turned the other way or refused to see Lenhart for what he is. (I mean, seriously, dude … just play the game, eh?)
Hopefully a corner has been turned. Major League Soccer’s disciplinary committee suspended the Earthquakes’ troublemaker for two games. They got this right.
(MORE: A closer look from 2012 at Lenhart the agitator)
Watch what he did to Chivas USA’s Mario de Luna in last week’s match at the Home Depot Center. Maybe you could provide Lenhart some benefit of the doubt after kicking de Luna in the face the first time (even if Lenhart really does not deserve any benefit of the doubt by now), but Lenhart managed to kick the fallen player in the face a second time!
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The league also fined and suspended New England left back Chris Tierney for a reckless challenge on Philadephia’s Sebastien Le Toux. Tierney will sit out Thursday’s contest in Portland, which opens MLS Round 10.
There will be a little more said about this one, by the way. Check back on the blog.
And the league also denied appeals from Chicago’s Jeff Larentowicz and Houston’s Brad Davis, who will miss their team’s matches this week.
As we said before on the blog, the Davis incident was close but probably dealt with properly. Things look much less certain with Larentowicz.