Peter Vermes not only promised to appealRoger Espinoza's red card from Saturday's match against the Philadelphia Union, he promised Sporting KC would win the appeal. He wasn't wrong.
On Tuesday, the Independent Review Panel rescinded the fine and one-game suspension issued Espinoza after the midfielder was ejected from Sporting's 2-0 loss to the Union. Espinoza saw red in the 87th minute, which was judged to be violent conduct by referee Juan Guzman:
However, Espinoza's appeal was unanimously upheld by the Panel, which consists of one representative each from the U.S. Soccer Federation, Canadian Soccer Association and the Professional Referees Organization (PRO).
As a result, Espinoza will be eligible to play in Sporting’s next match against Houston Dynamo on Friday, Sept. 9 (8 pm ET, UniMas).
