Stars and Stripes FC – Bobby Wood and Alejandro Bedoya are missing the United States’ Copa America semifinal due to yellow card accumulation. Two of the team’s best players will be missing a high profile match because they received yellow cards during the group stage and the quarterfinal round.
Bedoya’s suspension is particularly egregious because he received his first yellow card during the opening match against Colombia. A player being suspended for a huge match because he was given two yellow cards in four matches? It seems a bit silly whether you look at it from a business or a quality of play standpoint.
In a perfect (and rational) world, yellow cards would have been erased at the conclusion of the group stage. I’m struggling to come up with the reasons why they carried over into the knockout rounds.
The majority of fans around the world (and I’m sure tournament organizers) won’t care about the United States missing a few key players. This tournament is about the star players of Argentina and Brazil and Colombia.
But what if it was Lionel Messi who was suspended? What if Lionel Messi was given a yellow card in Argentina’s opening match and then was giving a card for something minor in the quarterfinal (let’s say time wasting). Now the best player in the world is missing the semifinal of a major international tournament because he received two cards in four matches. I imagine the rules would then be reexamined and altered to prevent it from happening again.
The U.S. is rumored to be appealing Wood’s suspension, but it’s doubtful it’ll be overturned. They’ll be heading into the semifinal without their best striker.
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