61915_isi_dempseyclint_usmntbs10142014160 Brad Smith/isiphotos.com
The Notebook: Part Deuce

MLS Ruling Will Determine Dempsey's Gold Cup Fate

The Seattle Sounders striker and U.S. men's national team captain is likely to miss three or six MLS matches for his poor behavior Wednesday night—and he'll probably miss some Gold Cup games too. 
BY Brian Sciaretta Posted
June 19, 2015
8:30 AM

WHEN CLINT DEMPSEY swatted referee Daniel Radford's notebook to the ground and then proceeded to tear it to pieces, the U.S. men's national team captain put himself in the spotlight for all of the wrong reasons. He also sent soccer journalists, myself included, running to the rulebooks as we tried to determine Dempsey's likely fate.  

The policies set forth in the United States Soccer Federation Policy Manual can be confusing but here is what we know.

 

First, because the U.S. Open Cup competition is a professional league member activity it is not Policy 531-9 that applies to this incident, as we speculated here, but rather Policy 202(1)(H)-2. This is a positive development for the 32-year-old Texan because Policy 531-9 deals mostly with amateur play and the punishment for referee abuse and assault at that level is far more severe, with the latter punishable by a mandatory minimum suspension of three months. 

Policy 202(1)(H)-2 does not stipulate penalties as severe but Dempsey still faces quite a bit of trouble.

There are currently two investigations into the incident. The first is being led by the U.S. Open Cup Adjudication and Discipline Panel and that group will hand out punishments, if any, only for U.S. Open Cup competitions.

The second investigation is run by Major League Soccer and that could potentially yield far more severe penalties for Dempsey. MLS, as a Professional League Member under U.S Soccer, is bound by the federation’s policies regarding referee abuse and assault. Right now, MLS is looking into whether or not Dempsey game committed a punishable offense as indicated by the statute.

Here is what Policy 202(1)(H)-2 says regarding referee assault. (Bolded passages are my emphasis.)

(1) Any player, coach, manager, club official, or league official who commits an intentional act of physical violence at or upon a referee (“Referee Assault”) shall be suspended without pay for a period of at least six consecutive matches (the “Assault Suspension”). The Assault Suspension shall commence with the first match after which the individual has been found to have committed this act. (2) For purposes of this subparagraph 2(a), “Referee Assault” shall include, but is not limited to: striking, kicking, choking, grabbing or bodily running into a referee; spitting on a referee with ostensible intent to do so; kicking or throwing an object at an official that could inflict injury; or damaging the referee’s uniform or personal property (e.g., car, uniform, or equipment).

Under this rule, if MLS finds that Dempsey was guilty of referee assault for damaging the referee’s uniform or personal property after ripping up Radford’s match notebook (as it appeared he did), Dempsey would be suspended for a minimum of six Seattle Sounders games. MLS is free to impose a longer suspension if it sees fit.

There are other possible violations which MLS might investigate as well. “Referee Abuse” carries a minimum suspension of three games but those seem to be directed at violations along the lines of verbal and nonverbal communication. Assault would seem to be the likely offense being investigated according to the letter of the law.

Here's another noteworthy item.

 “The Assault Suspension and Abuse Suspension (the “Suspension”) shall preclude the suspended individual from participating in any soccer competition until the suspension has expired.”

What this means is that while Dempsey serves a potential suspension for assault or abuse, it would apply to Seattle Sounders games and he would be ineligible to play for the United States national team while serving the suspension.

Now if Dempsey was to receive the minimum six-game suspension for referee assault before this Saturday, he would be unavailable to play soccer through the Sounders-Colorado game on July 17. The Gold Cup quarterfinals begin on July 18.

A six-game penalty handed out sometime next week would mean that the suspension runs through Seattle’s game on July 24, leaving Dempsey eligible to play only in the Gold Cup final or the third-place game, assuming the Americans make it that far. Of course, should Jurgen Klinsmann want to keep this option, he would have to use one of the Gold Cup’s 23-player roster spots on Dempsey even while he was suspended. 

And if Dempsey was sitting in the stands for more than a month, would he possess the sort of match fitness that would allow him to help the team? Doubtful.

As of now, it is impossible to say how the MLS will rule on this incident. The evidence certainly suggests that Dempsey damaged the referee’s personal property when he tore up the match notebook. That would be assault. But will a league that loves its star players choose to make a strong statement and go with the longer suspension? If MLS thinks it can suspend Dempsey for a shorter duration without taking a public relations hit, will it do so?

MLS certainly has a history of playing fast and loose with its own rules, so it wouldn't be a shocker if Dempsey received a three-game suspension.

That said, there is no telling what other evidence and testimony the league has in its possession that would either strengthen or weaken Dempsey’s defense in this matter—or compel the league to consider a possible lesser offense.

Either way, Dempsey's behavior was abhorrent and unbecoming of a U.S. national team captain. He has now put himself at risk of missing the Gold Cup and may have hurt his team’s chances at qualifying for the 2017 Confederations Cup.

Brian Sciaretta is an American Soccer Now columnist and an ASN 100 panelist. Follow him on Twitter.

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