New York Red Bulls defender Karl Ouimette was ruthlessly kicked in the back by Romeo Parkes on Saturday night, after both players were given red cards.
The New York Red Bulls had sent their 23-year-old defender Karl Ouimette down to their USL team to get some playing time and help the club out on Saturday night against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds.
Unfortunately for both the player and the club though, Ouimette’s time with the New York Red Bulls II did not go exactly as planned.
Along with Pittsburgh’s Jamaican international Romeo Parkes, Ouimette was given a red card and sent off the pitch in the final five minutes of the match. While Ouimette accepted the decision and began to make his way off the field, Parkes was not as classy about the whole situation. Parkes waited for Ouimette to turn his back and begin walking off the pitch before kicking him right in the spine.
When you kick an opponent in the back in the brutal manner that Parkes did, it’s difficult for even your coach to defend you.
“It’s an unfortunate situation and it’s embarrassing for the organization, for myself and the coaching staff, and for everybody,” Riverhounds head coach Mark Steffens said following the game, via MLSsoccer.com. “I think it will be dealt with by the USL and by us, as well.”
It didn’t take long for the offender to take to social media to apologize for his actions to both the fans and Ouimette himself.
It is yet to be determined how long Parkes will be suspended for, but it could be one of the lengthiest bans we’ve ever witnessed in North American soccer. The Jamaican international had been named to his country’s preliminary 40 man roster set for the Copa American Centenario taking place in the United States this summer, but after Saturday night’s events he will likely be missing out on the festivities.
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