Question about Chuki's suspension

I was there at the game Sunday along with Bob and TrueBrit. The incident Chuki was involved in was started by the other player who grabbed his jersey and pulled him down. Not surprisingly, Chuki got a little hot and both of them were red carded. I didn't see any real fighting there but of course I don't know what was said.

Would someone explain to me what was so bad there that the kid was suspended at this most critical time in the playoffs? The red card should have been plenty remedy from what I saw from the sidelines.

Thanks.

From soccerrules.org:

"Soccer Red Card - A player must be shown a Red Card and "sent off" (i.e., made to leave the field) for the 7 offenses listed below. A player shown a "Red Card" & sent off may not be replaced during that game (i.e., his team must play a player "short" for the rest of the game; however, in some leagues a player may be replaced if he is ejected for receiving a second Yellow Card). The 7 offenses for which a player must be shown a Red Card and sent off are:

1. serious foul play (includes any use of excessive force or brutality against an opponent when challenging for the ball. Examples include a dangerous slide tackle from behind, or an "over the top tackle" in which a player raises his foot so the cleats could hit a player, or a two footed tackle that takes down the opponent. FIFA has broadened this definition by saying that "Any player who lunges at an opponent in challenging for the ball from the front, from the side or from behind using one or both legs, with excessive force and endangering the safety of an opponent is guilty of serious foul play. For current rules visit fifa.com, Laws of the Game. The above quote is from Questions and Answers, Additional Instructions for Referees). The rules now include "Decision 4", which says: "A tackle, which endangers the safety of an opponent, must be sanctioned as serious foul play".

2. violent conduct,

3. spitting at anyone,

4. deliberately touching the ball with a hand in order to prevent a goal or to deny an obvious goal scoring opportunity (such as to prevent a "Breakaway".... this does not apply to the goalkeeper within his own Penalty Box)

5. fouling an opponent to prevent an obvious goal scoring opportunity (e.g., holding to stop a breakaway),

6. using offensive, insulting or threatening language and/or gestures,

7. or receiving a second yellow card in one game.

Further comment from another source:
"In most tournaments, a single direct red card (i.e. not one received as a result of two successive yellow ones) results in disqualification of the offending player for one or more of subsequent matches, the exact number of matches varying by the offence committed and by jurisdiction. Should a team's on-field players receive a total of five red cards, they will be unable to field the required minimum of seven players and the match will be abandoned."

The kid took Chuki down really hard. It was no wonder Chuki got up and pushed him. I thought he actually showed a lot of self control although he was probably guilty of offenses 1, 6 (and maybe 3...jaja). A 3 game suspension seemed a bit harsh however maybe the league has had problems with violence in the past and want to ensure it is stomped on hard.

As a side note, I just found out yesterday that my maid's son plays for the team. He is Omar, who plays the left side field position to Chuki.

That's all he did, was push him?

I agree, I think this is overly harsh, particularly since he was not the instigator.

Any appeal from this?

retaliation, seems to get punished more severely by the football leagues than the actual first offence..was surprised the ref didn't seem to show any cards for either of the two penalties..

The Ref's call always stands.  There is no appeal.  That's futbol.  Wait until the World Cup.

I wasn't aware the ref handed out the suspension. I thought it came from the league.

I was there. Chuki did a whole lot less than the other guy. In his shoe, I probably would have punched the guy in the face. That team played very dirty in both games IMO. They got away with murder when we played in Tepec.

I refereed soccer for more than 12 years, retaliation is worse than the original offense.
Normally the league issues the sanction not the ref.
One of the biggest issues I found was the lack of rule knowledge by players and coaches, and the public even less.
However, many times that lack of referee control of the game, leads to misconduct by players.
Soccer is really a gentleman's sport. But tempers do fly, many of our outside stresses are released during a game.

as in most sports,especially team sport that involves speed and or physical contact.

I misunderstood that the issue was the suspension.  Under FIFA the suspension can be appealed.

I thought I made it very clear in my OP

Would someone explain to me what was so bad there that the kid was suspended at this most critical time in the playoffs? The red card should have been plenty remedy from what I saw from the sidelines.

a red card is an automatic suspension for 1 or 2 or more games depending on the severity ... no point in appealing, he retaliated..

Thanks for answering my question, guys.  I hope this suspension doesn't cost us the championship, particularly with our other starter injured and out.

Injuries and suspensions are a fact of life in sports. If you would like a real eye opener, go back in time and read the International rules that were in effect in the 50's and 60's. Current rules have calmed the game down quite a bit and the players are much less of a target to be very seriously injured (unless attacked by angry fans).