CONCACAF’s Appeals Committee has reduced the suspension of Club America’s Paolo Goltz from six games to three for his actions during the first leg of the Scotiabank Champions League semifinals match March 17 against CS Herediano, it was announced Wednesday.
The committee also reduced the undisclosed fine on the player.
Goltz was originally suspended six games for kicking Herediano’s Cristhian Lagos, but the Appeals Committee determined after “thorough analysis of the evidence” that they were unable to establish that the kick was intentional. Instead, the committee deemed his actions “reckless and dangerous (dangerous play) with the use of excessive force.”
The first match of the suspension will be served Wednesday in the return leg of the semifinal series at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, with Herediano holding a 3-0 advantage (10 pm ET, Fox Sports 2, Sportsnet World). In the event that America advance to the CCL finals, where they would face the Montreal Impact, Goltz would serve his second and third matches of suspension in that series.
If America are eliminated, the remainder of his suspension would have to be served in future CCL competitions.
