Aside from the pitch-invading cow, the thing that drew the most attention in Thursday's match between Sporting Kansas City and the Chicago Fire was the penalty that wasn't. In case you missed it, Bratislav Ristic upended Omar Bravo in the area and no penalty was called. Essentially, the argument seems to come down to either believing that Ristic getting the ball first absolves him of wrongdoing or not.
Yes, Omar Bravo Should Have Earned A Penalty Against Chicago Fire
Me? I think it’s clearly a penalty. I really don’t care that Ristic appears to get some of the ball. It’s a dangerous, studs up tackle from behind. That he got the ball is kinda immaterial.
More to the point, MLS is making lots of noise about trying to rid the league of these kinds of challenges. It's definitely not as bad as the tackles that ended the seasons of Javier Morales and Steve Zakuani, but it's not all that different either. By refusing to point to the spot, referee Michael Kennedy is essentially encouraging others to make the same kinds of challenges, which is the absolutely wrong message he should be sending.
But I’m curious ... what do you think?
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