KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Sporting Kansas City are still waiting to decide whether to appeal the first red card of C.J. Sapong's career.
The forward was ejected in the 68th minute of Sporting's 2-2 draw with FC Dallas on Saturday, after he deflected an already rolling ball into Andrew Jacobson as Jacobson lay on the pitch after being fouled.
"We're still considering an appeal," manager Peter Vermes told MLSsoccer.com after Monday's training session. "I know that he didn't mean to do what he did."
READ: Vermes disappointed with result, not performance after tie with FC Dallas
Sporting were up 2-0 at the time but had to settle for a road point after the Western Conference leaders capitalized on the man adscored in the 88th and 90th minutes.
The infraction appeared on replay to be inadvertent. Sapong sped up slightly and put out his foot in front of the ball, which a Dallas player had sent rolling back toward the spot of the foul and toward Jacobson while he was still on the ground.
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Sapong continued on after the deflection, which sparked immediate protest from Dallas' players, and had his back to Jacobson when referee Mark Geiger called him back and showed him a straight red.
"It was a bad reaction by them not knowing the play, when their own Dallas player kicked it across the field," Vermes said. "He was actually trying to stop the ball. He just missed the touch. You can see he doesn't, like flick it into him or anything. So I'm going to see where it stands."
Sapong, who is in his third season with Sporting, did not speak to reporters after Monday's training. If the red card stands, he will be suspended for Saturday's home match against the Columbus Crew.
