A little over a month after he stomped on Fredy Montero of the Seattle Sounders in the US Open Cup Final, D.C. United goalkeeper Josh Wicks has received a five-match tournament suspension. Wicks was shown a red card for the attack on Montero which took place shortly after the Colombian scored the opening goal of the game in the 67th minute. Wicks will serve an automatic one-game suspension for the red card, and will be banned an additional four games.
This was reported by Steve Goff of the Washington Post:
Wicks exchanged words with referee Alex Prus and berated fourth official Andrew Chapin, who apparently witnessed the incident and reported it to Prus.
The six-member USSF panel ruled that Wicks “intentionally stomped on a player in the field of play, refused to leave the field of play in a timely fashion and used highly inflammatory language to insult the fourth official.”
Wicks has until the end of business Tuesday to appeal.
This is the second year in a row that a player has received a multiple game Open Cup ban. In 2008, Quauhtemoc Blanco received a two-year ban for a throwing a punch during a Quarterfinal match against DC United. The suspension was increased to two years because the Mexican International attempted to head butt a team official as he was escorted off the field. Wicks’ additional suspension was also due to actions that took place after he received the red card. The goalkeeper’s suspension only applies to the Open Cup proper and does not include any qualifying games, which are not part of the actual tournament.
Does the punishment fit the crime? Too harsh? Too light? Re-live the moment below and let us know what you think.