LA Galaxy's Nigel de Jong given three-match MLS ban after horror tackle
Friday 15 April 2016 17:37, UK
LA Galaxy midfielder Nigel de Jong has been handed a three-match suspension after a forceful tackle left an opponent needing to be taken off in a wheelchair.
Major League Soccer's disciplinary committee has also fined the 31-year-old former Netherlands international an undisclosed amount.
The incident involved Portland Timbers' Darlington Nagbe during last weekend's 1-1 draw at the StubHub Center, in which Nagbe was left writhing in agony but escaped serious injury.
An MLS statement acknowledged that, while de Jong was booked for the tackle, he should have been sent off for serious foul play that endangered the safety of an opponent.
"The action was a clear and unequivocal red card and the play was of an egregious and reckless nature such that the Committee must act to protect player safety," the statement said.
De Jong, who joined Galaxy from Milan in January, triggered an outcry from American soccer fans, who have bitter memories of a 2010 challenge by the former Manchester City player that left USA international Stuart Holden with a broken leg.
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De Jong, who also famously hit the headlines in 2010 for a brutal challenge on Spain's Xabi Alonso during the World Cup final, has apologised for his tackle on Nagbe.
"In a game like this, it's never the intention to hurt anybody, as well with my foul," he said.
