Peter Walton, the general manager of the Professional Referee's Organization, said the incident that led to Columbus Crew SC defender Michael Parkhurst being mistakenly sent off against New York City FC on Saturday was "disappointing," but also called it "a perfect storm."
In the 85th minute of Crew SC's 3-2 victory, Crew defender Tyson Wahl committed a foul on NYCFC attacker Kwadwo Poku that resulted in referee Ted Unkel calling a penalty. Yet it was Parkhurst, Wahl's teammate, who was issued a straight red card for the infraction. Earlier in the sequence, Parkhurst had tried and failed to tackle the ball away from Poku, but was nowhere near Poku when he was fouled.