OK Really, It's a Friendly!

There's a reason why they're called friendlies.

They give both teams involved a chance to play a competitive match with no stakes or anything else to worry about. They give the crowd a chance to see some great soccer, as well as world class teams that, at least here in America, we do not get to see on a week to week basis. During these US summer tours, teams are preparing for their seasons: checking out players who may be vouching for a spot or finding where guys are most comfortable.

They are not usually meant to see how guys play a man up or down.

I have never seen a red card in a friendly before, at least not a club level friendly between a European and American club. There apparently truly is a first time for everything as I saw it today.

I was at the gym. While I was working out, the Seattle Sounders FC-Celtic FC match came on. I got excited. I had been at work all day and forgot it was on. As I do my benching and leg lifting, I'm watching a pretty level match. Both teams got good early chances, but it was scoreless for the first half hour.

Then I saw a Celtic player put in a great ball for Georgios Samaras. He beat a couple Seattle defenders. As he was completing his move past the defense, Sounders keeper Terry Boss, in for the injured Kasey Keller, dove to his left, looking as if he was going after the ball, but missed it completely and clipped Samaras instead. Samaras kept going, on what seemed to be an advantage, and slid the ball into the open net. 1-0 to the boys of Glasgow.

There's always a "but" though.

For some reason, I still cannot figure out, the referee gives a penalty. Why? Samaras had the advantage and put the goal in. Why make him have to score again when he just did? Especially since this is just a friendly, there's no need to give a penalty when he scored anyways.

For me, the icing on the cake was what followed. The ref pulled out the old red card and sent Terry Boss on his merry way. In the words of my man Seth Meyers from Saturday Night Live, really?

You are really going to give a red card to a goalkeeper for missing the ball in a friendly, WHEN THE GUY KEPT GOING AND SCORED?! Really?

Even Celtic players were mad about it for crying out loud! They are in the middle of preseason. This was their second big preseason match following the Manchester United game in Toronto. They do not want to be practicing eleven on ten at this point.

The fans were not to happy either. They obviously wanted a fair, even match in which they got to see some of their favorite players and some younger guys. The double whammy hit them today. Boss gets his marching orders and Sigi Schmid has to take off Fredy Montero in order to put in Jordan Jennings.

If anything, this was a yellow card. I have seen far worse in my time get the other shoulder and play just continued. That foul, yes I agree it is a foul and if Samaras loses the ball a penalty, is only a red card in, for example, the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League and Petr Cech goes at Cristiano Ronaldo because he knows that Chelsea have the away goal advantage and there is only a couple minutes left. That is hypothetical, I am sure Cech would not do such a thing. The point is, in a friendly, that is not sending off material. That is not a penalty. Give Celtic the goal, Boss a yellow card, and the fans a good game and just leave it be. Do not worry ref, I am sure FIFA would not take your license away from you. They did not even take Koman Coulaby's after the USA-Slovenia match so there is nothing to worry about.

So one last time I say to anyone who thinks that that foul is a red card in a friendly between Seattle and Celtic, really?