David Beckham was sent off for a studs-up challenge in the Los Angeles Galaxy’s 2-0 loss to the Seattle Sounders in Major League Soccer on Saturday.
Beckham slid into a tackle on Seattle midfielder Peter Vagenas, hooking his right ankle and bringing his former Galaxy teammate down. Referee Ricardo Salazar immediately issued the red card and while Beckham did not offer much of an argument before leaving the field, he later disputed the straight red.
“Pete’s one of my best friends,” Beckham said after the game. “I’ve never gone into one tackle wanting to hurt someone. It was a hard tackle, but by no means a red card.”
PHOTO: AP
It was Beckham’s first straight red card in his MLS career and his second sending off. The red card carries an automatic suspension that will force Beckham to miss Los Angeles’ match in Chicago on Wednesday.
“With the way he came in hard, I could see how the referee would determine it likely was a dangerous tackle,” Los Angeles coach Bruce Arena said. “When you throw yourself into that kind of tackle, there’s a chance you’re going to get sent off.”
There were three expulsions in the match. Seattle’s Tyrone Marshall received his second yellow card in the 78th minute, and Los Angeles’ Eddie Lewis was shown a straight red seconds later, reducing the Galaxy to nine men.
Landon Donovan, diagnosed with swine flu on Thursday, entered the game at the start of the second half.
Beckham has received a mixed reception from LA fans upon his return to MLS, as they were upset at the length of his loan move to AC Milan in Italy’s Serie A.
The former England captain received a show of support on Saturday, however, being cheered upon the naming of the lineup, while one banner behind the south goal read: “Welcome Back Beckham.”
The “LA Riot Squad,” the group of fans that displayed anti-Beckham banners when the Galaxy played Milan last month, unveiled no messages and did not boo Beckham as a unit.
Shohei Ohtani and his wife arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates yesterday ahead of their season-opening games with the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani, wearing a black training suit and a cap backwards, was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, walked several steps behind him. As a crowd of fans, many wearing Dodgers jerseys, shouted his name and cheered slogans, Ohtani briefly waved his hand, but did not say anything before he entered a limousine bus with his wife. Fans held placards
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals at the All England Open, beating Kim Ga-eun of South Korea 21-17, 21-15. With the win, Tai earned a semi-final against China’s He Bingjiao, who beat Michelle Li of Canada 21-9, 21-9. Defending champion An Se-young defeated India’s P.V. Sindhu 21-19, 21-11. An on Wednesday cruised into the second round, unlike last year’s men’s winner, Li Shifeng, who suffered a shock defeat. South Korea’s An, the world No. 1, overcame Taiwan’s Hsu Wen-chi 21-17, 21-16 to set up the match against Sindhu. In other women’s singles matches, Taiwan’s Sung Shuo-yun lost 21-18, 24-22 against Carolina Marin of
EYEING TOP SPOT: A victory in today’s final against Storm Hunter and Katerina Siniakova would return 38-year-old Hsieh Su-wei to the world No. 1 ranking Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens on Thursday secured a spot in the women’s doubles finals at the BNP Paribas Open after dispatching Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) at Indian Wells. Hsieh and her Belgian partner Mertens, who won the Australian Open in late January, coasted through the first set after breaking their opponents’ serve twice, but found the going tougher in the second. Both pairs could only muster one break point over 12 games, neither of which were converted, leaving the set to be decided by a tiebreaker. Hsieh and Mertens took a 6-3 lead,
DOUBLES PAYBACK: Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Martens avenged their defeat in the quarters at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open against Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium dispatched Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani 6-1, 6-4 to set up a clash against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez for a spot in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament. Hsieh and Martens made a blistering start to their rematch after they lost to Schuurs and Stefani in the quarter-finals at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open last month, winning three games without reply at the start of the first set