Real Salt Lake midfielder Kyle Beckerman was suspended two additional games -- bringing his total suspension to three games -- and will be forced to sit out the remainder of the regular season after he head butted Daniel Paladini on Sept. 28. Beckerman was also fined $1,000.
Kyle Beckerman Suspended Three Games For Head Butt, Will Miss Rest Of Season
Beckerman will effectively miss Real Salt Lake’s final four games because of national team duty.
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In a release from the league, the punishment was explained this way: “The Disciplinary Committee determined that Beckerman’s actions were completely outside the scope of the game and demonstrated utter disregard for the safety of his opponent.”
Somewhat complicating matters is the fact that Beckerman was called into United States national team duty and already missed Thursday’s game against the Vancouver Whitecaps. It stands to reason that if this punishment were not hanging over his head, he might have tried to play as RSL is in the midst of a rough patch that has now seen them lose four straight. If the league had counted the game against the Whitecaps as one of the games for which he had been suspended, though, many would have surely claimed that the league was taking it easy on the one-time MVP candidate.
On the other hand, Beckerman will now miss the same number of games as Marcos Mondaini, the Chivas USA forward who broke RSL playmaker Javier Morales' ankle with a tackle from behind earlier this year. Unlike Morales, Paladini did not have to miss any games due to injury.
For more reaction on the suspension be sure to check out RSL Soapbox.
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