Tempers flare as Riley confronts Berhalter. Riley
was red carded for swinging his arm at Berhalter's
neck. Mark Malijan / NSS
As the final whistle sounded, indicating the end of yesterday's 1-1 draw against the L.A. Galaxy, head coach Sigi Schmid stormed the field toward Referee Tim Weyland and his assistants.
Schmid was animatedly upset, waving his arms while yelling at Weyland who was escorted off the field by a couple of policemen. As usual, Schmid didn't censor himself in his press conference.
"I’m very disappointed in the ejection and I’m disappointed in the refereeing," Schmid said. "There seemed to be a lot of inequalities in the game."
To Continue...
James Riley was issued a red card in the 57th minute for unsporting conduct after fighting with Galaxy defender Gregg Berhalter.
The altercation came after Berhalter held onto the ball after a foul and turned his back to Riley when Riley tried to take the ball from him. Tempers flared resulting in numerous skirmishes including Riley swinging his arm at Berhalter's neck.
“It really did happen so fast,” Riley said. “I have no intent to ever hit a player with my hand.”
Perhaps the most animated Sounder on the field yesterday was Freddie Ljungberg, who was yellow carded for disputing calls.
"It’s really hard to say what upsets you the most," Ljungberg said. "I think it’s the whole thing."
Ljungberg was referring to a no-call when Nate Jaqua was pulled down from behind in the box with only the goalie in front of him.
The referees saw no foul as Seattle's 29,000 fans roared with a chorus of boos
"Everybody knows how important the goals are," Ljungberg said. "One goal would’ve changed the game."
Weyland was under fire three weeks ago when a controversial hand ball call against Toronto FC resulted in a goal for Dallas, who eventually won the game.
"When I was coaching in college we were allowed to list a couple of referees who would not be put on your games," Schmid said. "[Weyland] hasn’t refereed many games that I’ve coached."
Foul Summary
LA -- Alan Gordon (caution; Reckless Foul) 32
SEA -- Brad Evans (caution; Dissent) 45
SEA -- James Riley (caution; Reckless Foul) 57
SEA -- James Riley (ejection; Violent Conduct) 57
SEA -- Freddie Ljungberg (caution; Dissent) 58
LA -- Mike Magee (caution; Dissent) 59
LA -- Tony Sanneh (caution; Dissent) 61
SEA -- Nate Jaqua (caution; Reckless Tackle) 80
LA -- Stefani Miglioranzi (caution; Reckless Tackle) 83
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Reach Aaron Weinberg at nextseasonsports@gmail.com
