The Seattle Sounders won’t miss important midfielder Osvaldo Alonso this week after all. Major League Soccer has rescinded the red card issued last week to Alonso – about as critical a cog in the Sounders’ machine as their can possibly be.
An independent review panel decided his actions last week against San Jose were insufficiently violent to warrant a red card and the subsequent suspension.
Ordinarily, league-level back-tracking a red card would be a fairly rare but fairly mostly unremarkable event. But this one comes just weeks after Sounders striker Obafemi Martins had the same thing happen.
The lifting of the suspension to Martins looks like a pretty good choice. As for Alonso (pictured, in the center), it’s just not quite as clear, which makes this one worth talking about.
Here’s the dealio: the squeaky wheel principal does happen in Major League Soccer. That is, men in high places who have big influence over what’s what, will have their words heard, and they can certainly exert a degree of high-level influence.
Did it happen in this case? I absolutely, positively cannot say. I have zero idea.
But you know what they say: One might be a complete fluke. Two is starting to look like a trend. But three … that definitely looks like a problem.
Just saying, this is worth keeping a watch over.
Seattle meets Colorado at home this week.