¡Suspensión! Four players suspended after hostile U.S.-Mexico soccer match

Four soccer players were suspended after last week’s match between Mexico and the U.S. Men’s National Team (USMNT), which arose after the competing team members got into a light brawl with pushing and shoving.

The match ended four minutes early after the brawl seemed to raise hostilities in the crowd at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium.

The four players, two from Mexico and two from the U.S. were flagged during the match with “red-cards” and subsequently suspended for “on-field player misconduct,” according to Concacaf, the body that governs soccer matches.

Mexico’s César Montes and USMNT’s Weston McKinnie both received four-game suspensions after McKennie’s shirt was torn off during the brawl. USMNT’s Sergiño Dest and Mexico’s Gerardo Arteaga were also suspended.  

The suspensions include an mandatory one-game ban, which has to be exercised during the national team competitions, a downside for both teams.

The brawl erupted about 70 minutes into the game when Montes kicked out at Folarin Balogun, a move that earned him a “red card,” a device used to discipline a player for on-field misconduct.

While tensions continued to run high between both teams, Dest and Arteaga were also shown red cards after pushing one another 15 minutes later.

So far, it is unknown what fine Concacaf will assess against the federations, but the governing body warned that “more severe sanctions” would come with more misconduct.

The USMNT ultimately won the match 3-0 and moved upward to win the Nations League title 2-0 against Canada, and is playing Jamaica in Chicago on Sunday while Mexico is playing Honduras.