Atlanta United manager Frank de Boer said the yellow card given to Franco Escobar by referee Robert Sibiga in Sunday's 2-1 loss to Seattle was "really a disgrace."
The yellow card was given in the 82nd minute. Escobar will miss Wednesday’s game against Houston because of yellow card accumulation. MLS doesn’t allow teams to appeal yellow cards.
On the play, Escobar and Cristian Roldan converged on a loose ball. Escobar got to the ball first and headed it. Roldan hit the ground holding his head.
“The guy makes a foul on him,” de Boer said. “Franco was first to the ball and makes a fantastic challenge. It was unbelievable.”
Atlanta United’s Leandro Gonzalez Pirez said Sibiga told the players that it was a “red-card play.”
“It was ridiculous because they go to challenge the ball,” Gonzalez Pirez said. “Both head the ball. Don’t understand how he called it a foul. Sometimes we don’t understand the calls. We have to respect it.”
That wasn’t the only yellow card given by Sibiga that de Boer didn’t understand. He said the yellow card given to Miles Robinson in the 22nd minute also was “nothing.”
“Josef (Martinez) gets a flying tackle on his ankle and there’s no yellow card,” de Boer said. “It was frustrating for my side to see that happening.”
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