They say there’s a first time for everything. Saturday was the first in time in the six-year coaching career of Gregg Berhalter that he was dismissed from a match.
The sending off happened following a 77th minute foul on Columbus Crew SC winger Niko Hansen. Je-Vaughn Watson, the infringing player, was shown a yellow card, but Berhalter believed the clothesline “was a play that doesn’t belong in soccer” and “was a clear attack on one of our players.”
Due to his reaction — the head coach kicked the match ball back onto the field — Berhalter was sent to the locker room and was given an automatic one-game suspension unless overturned through an appeals process.