The uberGoff's fill-in Paul Terino had this to say about Mexican forward Cuauhtemoc Blanco's alleged blow-up on Thursday mornings The Washington Post "Soccer Insider":
In addition to his on-field conduct, which according to D.C. United defender Marc Burch included both punching and eye-gouging D.C. midfielder Clyde Simms, Blanco also allegedly head-butted a D.C. United operations employee as he was being escorted off the field, according to sources.
Here is D.C. United's comment on the situation: "As a result of incidents last night, Major League Soccer has requested video footage, which we are preparing and will be sending to the league," United spokesman Doug Hicks said. Hicks said MLS will have the video today.
At the conclusion of the first extra time of DC United and Chicago's US Open Cup quarterfinal match, Blanco reportedly retaliated for a foul, lashing out at both Clyde Simms and Marc Burch of United. When relative calm was restored, referee Shane Moody sent off both Blanco and Marc Burch, but additional fines could be forthcoming if the rumors of Blanco's extracurricular activities are true.
Here is a video of the initial incident from YouTube. Blanco appears to give Simms a forearm to the stomach as the referee is walking away. The incident is at about 30 seconds and is replayed at 42 seconds.
"There was a foul and Clyde was holding on to the ball and Blanco came over and just swung as hard as he could and hit him in the stomach," said Burch. "And I'm sick of that -- I saw him throwing elbows at Peralta and I bumped shoulders with him and he threw an elbow at me, and when he was on the ground he kicked me. So I was just sick of him. He gets away with a lot of stuff because he's Blanco and he's from Mexico and it's a big name. But he can't do that stuff to my teammates, so I just stood up for them."
A United fan that goes by the username "DC Braveheart" posted on soccer forum BigSoccer.com posted what he saw following the on-the-field scuffle:
I don't suppose anyone got pictures of Blanco head-butting the DCU staffer after he was sent off tonight? Happened right in front of me. After Blanco hesitated by the bench the staffer went over to encourage him to leave the area. Blanco got in his face and after a few words were exchanged Blanco head-butted him right between the eyes.
After Blanco headed to the dressing room, the staffer chatted with a police officer by the side of the field and after a couple of minutes both of the headed after Blanco. I hope the wanker gets arrested and charged with assault.
It will be interesting to see how league handles an incident with one of its stars. In 2001, Tampa Bay Mutiny (remember them) star Mamadou Diallo attacked a fan and was suspended for four games, fined and sent to anger management. Of course, this was an alleged DC staffer, not a fan, but if it is true, than the punishment should be just as severe.
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