Nashville SC’s appeal of Dax McCarty’s red card has been denied by the league’s Independent Review Panel, a league source has confirmed to Broadway Sports Media. The club captain’s suspension has been upheld after being sent off in the 44th minute in a 3-1 win over New York City FC.
McCarty took down NYCFC’s Maxi Moralez following an admittedly confusing drop ball sequence, and their resulting confrontation grew to included members of both teams, as well as players from the bench. This is a clear violation of the league’s mass confrontation policy, which typically results in a warning for a first-time offense and fines for individual players who participate.
According to the league rules, clubs can file an appeal with the Independent Review Panel in cases of a clear and obvious error. The panel is comprised of a representative from the U.S. Soccer Federation, a representative of the Canadian Soccer Association, and a representative from the Professional Referee Organization. The review procedure works as follows:
The applicable Ruling Body will review the appeal from the Club and determine, based on all available evidence (e.g., video, testimony, etc.):
1. Did the match officials make a clear and obvious error in respect to the disciplinary sanction in accordance with the Laws of the Game?
– If the IRP member’s answer to the question is YES, then he/she votes to uphold the appeal (i.e., the appeal is successful).
– If the IRP member’s answer to the question is NO, then he/she votes to deny the appeal (i.e., the appeal is unsuccessful). In cases where the IRP’s final decision is to deny an appeal, the IRP will then vote to determine whether the appeal deemed to be frivolous in line with the definition below:
A frivolous appeal is one that has no sound basis in fact or the Laws of the Game or that does not contain objective rational basis. In other words, an appeal is not frivolous if a reasonable observer with knowledge of the Laws of the Game would find that there is a rational basis for arguing that the discipline applied was not appropriate for the offense.
All IRP decision to uphold an appeal must be unanimous. Additionally, all decisions to classify an appeal as frivolous must be unanimous.
A formal announcement from the league is expected shortly, which will likely include additional punishments for both sides. This is a developing story and will be updated accordingly.
Update
The league confirmed McCarty’s suspension on Wednesday afternoon, meaning he’ll serve a single-match suspension against Montreal. Additionally, they listed other punishments for both teams.
McCarty and Moralez were both fined for failure to leave the field in a timely manner.
Nashville’s Jhonder Cadiz, Jalil Anibaba, Ake Loba and Alex Muyl were found in violation of the league’s policy regarding entering the field of play and have been fined. Additionally, Cadiz has been issued a one-match suspension and will be unavailable against Montreal. Dan Lovitz was found in violation of the league’s policy regarding hands to the face, head, or neck of an opponent, and has been fined.
NYCFC’s Valentin Castellanos, Anton Tinnerholm and Jesus Medina have been fined for inciting/escalating a mass confrontation. Castellanos received an additional fine for a violation of the league’s policy regarding hands to the face, head, or neck of an opponent.
Nashville and New York have both been issued a warning for their first violation of the league’s mass confrontation policy.
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