Yalla Shoot :USMNT’s Weston McKennie, Sergiño Dest Suspended After Red Cards vs. Mexico | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors
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U.S. men’s national team members Weston McKennie and Sergiño Dest, who missed the Concacaf Nations League Final after earning red cards during a 3-0 semifinal win over Mexico on June 15, will be suspended for additional games.
In addition to automatic one-match suspensions, McKennie was served a three-match suspension, while Dest was suspended for two, according to Concacaf.
Although neither player was on the U.S. roster for the upcoming Gold Cup, those matches will count toward the suspension, meaning McKennie and Dest will be eligible for Nations League play this fall, The Athletic’s Paul Tenorio reported.
McKennie was sent off after a brawl followed Mexico’s César Montes kicking U.S. striker Folarin Balogun. Dest was ejected 15 minutes later after a shoving match at the sideline. The U.S. Soccer Federation appealed McKennie’s red card but was turned down by Concacaf.
McKennie’s red card was examined and upheld by an independent review panel after reviewing video of the incident, Concacaf said.
Mexico was also hit with suspensions stemming from the incidents. Montes was handed a three-match suspension, while Gerardo Arteaga, the player who clashed with Dest, will serve two.
Here are the incidents that earned the players four- and three-game suspensions, respectively:
Before he was removed from the game, Dest registered his fourth career assist on the goal from substitute Ricardo Pepi which earned the Americans a three-goal lead in the 78th minute of the semifinal.
McKennie apologized to the U.S. team after the win for his upcoming absence in the final:
Despite missing Dest and McKennie, the United States shut out Canada 2-0 to claim the team’s second straight Nations League title Sunday. Midfielder Brenden Aaronson took McKennie’s place, while Joe Scally replaced Dest at right back.
The two USA vets will be swapped for different replacements when the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup kicks off Saturday against Jamaica. With a tight six-day turnaround between the two contests, interim head coach BJ Callaghan has switched out all but five of the 23 players who just won the Nations League title.
Nine players on the Gold Cup roster are age 22 or younger, including Cade Cowell, who just finished leading the U.S. with three goals in the U-20 World Cup.
That makes this Gold Cup the perfect chance for some of the United States’ most exciting young prospects to get playing time, as well as for McKennie and Dest to serve out their suspensions without negatively impacting the team.
