Seattle Sounders General Manager & President of Soccer Garth Lagerwey announced on Wednesday that the club has successfully won its appeal on midfielder Cristian Roldan’s red card he received in a 1-1 draw with LAFC last Sunday. Roldan was sent off in the 18th minute for violent conduct when referee Ted Unkel ruled Roldan had struck LAFC’s Eduard Atuesta in the face.
“I appreciate and respect the job that the referees did during the game,” Lagerwey said. “They have a very difficult job. The call that they made on the field was understandable. By the letter of the law, Cristian did make contact with the face of Atuesta, and I also understand why a VAR review would uphold that decision on the field.
“The Independent Review Panel...were able to deliberate and eventually reach a different conclusion.”
Roldan will not serve a suspension and is eligible to play on Saturday at Minnesota United (5 p.m. PT; JOEtv, YouTube TV, 950 KJR AM, El Rey 1360 AM). He has one goal and one assist so far in 2019 and had played every minute of every match prior to his ejection last weekend.
