If you haven’t heard, Cautemoc Blanco started up quite a fracas last week during their Open Cup loss to DC United. What is pretty much fact is that Blanco took a swing at Clyde Simms, presumably trying to take the ball away from him, then Mark Burch came over and pushed Blanco to the ground, then both Blanco and Burch were red carded.
[Note: What I despise about Blanco, and other players like him, is that when Burch pushed him to the ground, he got up and immediately yelled at the officials “Hey did you SEE that?!?!?!! He PUSHED ME!!!”, this is seconds after he had just PUNCHED Simms in the ribs. Why not be a man about it, and point yourself out for instigating. What a deuche.]
Here are the video highlights from the match. Watch it while you can, because the first version got taken down, presumably by MLS since they don’t want video of one of their stars doing what he’s doing. Also, check how John Thorrington scissors Jaime Moreno from behind and shockingly did not get a straight red for that.
[youtube width=”425″ height=”335″]http://youtube.com/watch?v=XIE7lmgK2xw[/youtube]
Link to youtube if the above doesn’t work…
Now the really interesting stuff is apparently what happened afterwards. According to some witnesses, Blanco headbutted a DC United employee who was trying to escort him off the field. Then got into a standoff with some security personnel at the stadium. There is some video, and it has been sent to MLS and the USSF for review.
It will be interesting to see what MLS & the USSF do to Blanco, if they do anything at all. Blanco is a big star, and a big money draw for them so I have a hard time believing they’re gonna ban him for some significant period of time. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a response something along the lines of “Well, the referrees saw everything and we will stand by their decision and no further action is warranted”.
Oh, and for those who think this is just a one-time thing from Blanco, check this video.
[youtube width=”425″ height=”335″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBEK3zsnS_U[/youtube]
Marc Burch said it best (emphasis mine):
“He came up and swung as hard as he could and tried to hit the ball and hit Clyde in the stomach,” Burch said. “He thinks he can do whatever he wants. I went over and I pushed him. I didn’t hit him, I didn’t go after him, I just pushed him down. He’s not going to do that to my teammate. He stood up and tried to poke Clyde in the eye and cut his eye open.
“I don’t like him, I don’t think he’s a good person. He’s a great player but when he’s out there he’s doing stuff that you shouldn’t be able to get away with.”
Compare that with Chicago Fire Vice President of Communications Gregg Elkin’s comment which is frankly laughable
“[Blanco] did stop at the bench to pick up whatever and the guy got on him, and when he turned to leave, his forehead did graze the cheek or jaw area”