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Mullan suspended 10 games
He’s been criticized and defended. Now, he’s suspended.
The MLS suspended Colorado Rapids midfielder Brian Mullan for 10 games and fined him $5,000 for his tackle that broke Seattle Sounder Steve Zakuani’s leg on Friday.
Meeting in New York, the Major League Soccer Disciplinary Committee today determined that Mullan’s challenge was reckless, egregious, and showed utter disregard for the safety of his opponent. Mullan will be suspended for a total of 10 games and fined a total of $5,000, including the automatic one-game suspension and $250 fine for receiving a red card.
“The Committee felt the egregious nature of the foul and the severity of the injury warranted the discipline issued,” executive vice president of competition and game operations Nelson Rodriguez said in a statement. “The Committee believes the challenge showed an utter disregard for Zakuani’s safety.
“In making this decision, the Committee took several factors into account: the timing of the challenge, the location on the field, the moments immediately before the challenge where it is clear that Mullan is frustrated and the severity of Zakuani’s injury”
Rapids Reaction: Mullan will not appeal the decision, according to a Rapids spokesperson.
Mullan released an official apology through the sports management firm James Grant Sports Ltd. on Wednesday.
“It is with regret that my tackle resulted in the injury of Steve and I am deeply sorry to Steve and all those impacted by his injury,” Mullan said in the statement.
Mullan did not report to Rapids practice on Tuesday, and coach Gary Smith told reporters that Mullan was “distraught” in the aftermath of the incident. Smith also said that Mullan has inquired about receiving psychological counseling to deal with the incident.
Recovery: Zakuani is still recovering at the Rose Medical Center in Denver after undergoing surgery late Friday night. Although the timeline for his recovery has not been officially released, Zakuani is expected to miss the duration of the season.
He issued a letter to fans in the days following the incident, saying that he “can’t thank my family, friends and fans enough for their love towards me.”
“After 24 hours, I had received about 400 e-mails, a couple hundred Facebook messages, hundreds of Facebook wall posts, 62 text messages and several phone calls from all over the world,” Zakuani said in the letter. “Thank you for your love, thoughts and prayers toward me.”
Collin Cleared: Also, U.S. Soccer has rescinded the red card issued to Sporting Kansas City defender Aurelien Collin in the 75th minute of the MLS match against New England Revolution on April 23 due to mistaken identity.
Collin was initially given the red card for serious foul play after it appeared he made contact above the shoulder on a New England player. After reviewing the video evidence, U.S. Soccer determined that the player who made contact above the shoulder was in fact Birahim Diop from Sporting Kansas City.
As a result, Collin will not be suspended for the next league match. Further, Diop cannot be issued a red card retroactively, and was not sanctioned by the MLS Disciplinary Committee.
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