Did Johnny Russell deserve red for this tackle?

In the 39th minute of Sporting KC’s 2-1 win over the Houston Dynamo on Saturday, Johnny Russell was shown his first red card in the six years he’s been in MLS. The passionate, fiery Scotsman has earned the name “JFR” for good reason, but he’s never malicious and generally stayed out of trouble.

“Malicious” is exactly the word referee Chris Penso used in telling Russell he was endangering players. Here’s the play:

Here is the Russell red in slo-mo. The announcers called it a harsh red. #SportingKC #SKCvHOU pic.twitter.com/RmSumAzYw3

— Chad Smith (@PlayFor90) September 24, 2023

This is a tackle in which Russell was absolutely confident he was going to get the ball. It’s a hard tackle because of that confidence. He knew he would get the ball, and he did. But it is not malicious. Neither referee even called a foul initially because he so clearly got the ball!

The ball takes the entire force of the tackle as he puts his foot directly on it. It’s actually such a perfect foot on the ball, that it doesn’t bounce away in another direction. Therefore, his foot does indeed roll over the ball and catch Nelson Quinones. Again, Quinones didn’t take the actual force of the tackle. The ball did. But he makes the most of it and his being down on the ground during the discussion did no favors for the SKC winger.

"I’ve never in my entire career went out to injure a player, and for [Penso] to come and tell me that it’s malicious, and I’m endangering players I think is an absolute joke, to be honest."

Full-quote from #SportingKC captain Johnny Russell: pic.twitter.com/twt8pUBfwy

— Daniel Sperry (@sperrydaniel94) September 24, 2023

The bottom line is that Johnny’s foot DOES go over the ball and catch the player. We’ve seen plays like this also result in a red card.

So personally, I don’t think it’s a terribly outlandish call. But it is VERY unlucky for Johnny. Other referees, not named Chris Penso, would not have given this red card.

On this episode of Shades of Blue, we’re analyzing Johnny’s red card as well as Peter Vermes’ yellow card for showing too much emotion. Plus we look at the MLS Playoff picture and get ready for this weekend’s match against St. Louis CITY.

We’ve got some absolute gold post-game audio from Peter Vermes who was told he shows too much emotion by a fourth official. Plus, Benny Feilhaber also received a yellow card on the sideline during SKCII’s win over STL this weekend, and we hear his thoughts on the matter.

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