Two U.S. players and two Mexico players received punishments from CONCACAF on Friday in connection with the red cards they received during the CONCACAF Nations League semifinal on June 15.
The United States’ Weston McKennie and Mexico’s Cesar Montes were each handed three-match suspensions, while the United States’ Sergino Dest and Mexico’s Gerardo Arteaga were both given two-match suspensions.
In addition, both the U.S. and Mexican soccer federations were issued undisclosed fines.
In the United States’ 3-0 victory last week in Las Vegas, Montes was red-carded in the 69th minute for a hard tackle on Folarin Balogun, and McKennie was sent off putting his hands to the face of an opponent during the ensuing altercation. McKennie came away from the fracas with a torn jersey.
In the 85th minute, Arteaga and Dest both were ejected after a sideline scuffle.
The suspensions will hurt the Mexican team far more than the U.S. team. The players will serve the bans during the CONCACAF Gold Cup, and those games will count for McKennie and Dest even though they aren’t on the U.S. roster. Montes and Arteaga are on the Mexican roster.
The U.S. team, which beat Canada 2-0 in the Nations League final on Sunday, will open Gold Cup play against Jamaica on Saturday in Chicago. Mexico plays its Gold Cup opener against Honduras on Sunday in Houston.
–Field Level Media