Colorado Rapids Vs. Seattle Sounders: Steve Zakuani's Horrific Injury Renders Result Almost Meaningless
by Jeremiah Oshan on Apr 22, 2011 11:31 PM PDT
in Sounders: MLS Regular Season
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PrintSteve Zakuani is going to miss next week's game after suffering an absolutely horrific break of his fibula and tibia following a stupid and reckless tackle by Brian Mullan. Zakuani is going to miss the match after that. In all likelihood, he's going to miss a bunch more after that too. Right now, it seems callous to even talk about the result, a not-entirely-insignificant 1-0 win over the Colorado Rapids.
At some point, we'll talk about the game and what this performance meant, but now is the time to focus on the injury and its aftermath. Sidereal has already talked about some of the major points, and what this injury will mean to Zakuani.
But we also need to discuss how the league handles Mullan's punishment and what that message sends. Mullan is not a monster. I know he was not trying to break Zakuani's leg. I'm sure he feels bad. But his comments after the match perfectly illustrate why an example must be made.
"I’m sorry for Steve (Zakuani)," Mullan said. "It was never my intention to injure him in the least. It’s a tackle that I’ve done hundreds of times and would probably do again. I had no intention of hurting him. It’s a freak, freak thing, and I apologize and wish Steve a speedy recovery."
Follow the jump for a still of the moment before impact.
Obviously, the emphasis in the quote is mine, but it should be obvious why that part is important. Mullan seems to think that his challenge was simply part of the game, and that's the problem. If you have the stomach, watch the replay (the one I've linked is actually reasonably tasteful), but really pay attention to the moment before impact. Look how close Mullan is when he is just starting his slide. He's about a foot away and doesn't appear to be making any kind of meaningful play on the ball.
Looking at the play in its full context, it looks even worse. Even discounting his state of mind (which looks pretty negative as he complains about no foul being called on Tyson Wahl), he clearly lines up Zakuani and goes in extremely hard. This is not just another challenge, it's the exact kind of challenge the league should be doing away with.
If the league wants to send a message, an appropriate suspension would start at 10 games and probably include some kind of probationary period. Mullan, and just as importantly other players in the league, can't be allowed to believe this is just part of doing business.
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i 100 percent agree with everything you say in this article
i hope MLS stands firm on this one.
No way with this suspension
I prefer Adrian’s suggestion. The thug can come play again in the MLS when Steve can.
by joesz on Apr 22, 2011 11:38 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
Suspension
The longest suspension ever given to an MLS player for a red card was 10 games. Somehow I doubt they’ll go that extreme again (I really think they should though).
Taylor Twellman tweeted this:
I’d like to see Mullan suspended for 7/8 games. Ridiculous challenge and should be punished
Ives Galarcep tweeted this:
A long Mullan suspension isn’t about retribution or vengeance, but about sending a clear message to MLS players to eliminate rash challenges
Mullan should be made an example. Hopefully MLS will do the right thing for the game in this country and punish him severely.
I always, always lean towards "accident" when a player leaves another player with an injury
I had my nose shattered last month by a flying elbow and didnt give it a thought.
So when this happened I thought “Terribly reckless, profoundly stupid, but ultimately an accident”
Everything since has left me with the most bitter taste in my mouth, and I really do believe Mullan went into the tackle with mens rea
Way back in drivers' ed,
my instructor said “There are no accidents, only collisions. Accidents imply it is no one’s fault. Someone is always at fault.”
I think that applies here. The injury may have been “accidental,” but the tackle certainly wasn’t, which makes the former a moot point.
by Cornchops on Apr 23, 2011 1:44 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
if the MLS doesn't have direct control over the ref's, how hard is it to enforce changes?
It’s my understanding that MLS ref’s are under the auspices of a different governing body (my apologies for not being able to recall the info). If this is in fact the case, how does the MLS enforce it’s required changes or even deal with the poor quality of refereeing?
Life's what happens while you're making other plans
The ref actually did a good job. Keep the focus on the player in this case.
He saw the terribly malicious foul and whipped out his red card straight away. I was impressed that he kept the teams from brawling.
I saw a couple more chippy fouls that could have resulted in cards for both teams but I think he kept his cool.
Now the line judges that kept calling off-sides on the Sounders are another story!!
by butterGlory on Apr 23, 2011 12:34 AM PDT up reply actions
Exactly
and on top of that, the league may not have control over the ref but it does have control over the rules and the punishments for breaking those rules. So even if the ref does a good/bad job enforcing those rules in game, the league can still control the players by sending a message by way of fines and multiple game bans.
wasn't referring to poor ref's in this game...just overall....
but my primary focus was on how the league can implement a desire to control the game better and lessen the thuggish play if they don’t have direct oversight of the officiating. Not trying to change focus off of Steve at all — trying to understand how to better prevent this from happening again or from having guy respond by saying that they’d execute that same tackle in the same manner again if given the opportunity.
Life's what happens while you're making other plans
The league might wait until they see just how bad the injury is – four months, six months, a year, a (god forbid) career ender? – before handing out the verdict. My best assumption would be a six game suspension knowing what we currently know.
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My 2 cents
as I am sure others have stated similarly is to have #11 cards showing for every game either at the 4th min into the match or the 11th. There should also be some new chant that sends a clear message to Steve wherever he might be watching the match as well as to the players on the pitch to fight for him.
by fcjake on Apr 23, 2011 1:11 AM PDT reply actions 1 recs
Is this systemic?
Admittedly, I’m not the most knowledgeable fan, and I haven’t watched non-Seattle Rapid games, but I came out of last year saying the rapids were fucking thugs, and I think I was right. I’m not saying Mullen intentionally broke a leg with that tackle, but I don’t think it’s any coincidence that a break happened against Colorado. It seems to be par for the corse for them. And that wasn’t the last cheap not-playing-the-ball foul they gave that game. I say bench Mullan for the rest of the year.
Colorado are physical, sure
especially with Casey in there, but I’d stop short of calling them thugs. There are more physical teams in MLS IMO. It’s a physical league. The Rapids use that physicality, sure, but calling them a bunch of thugs is a bit much.
It’s a tackle that I’ve done hundreds of times and would probably do again
I couldn’t agree more that his statement is what scares me.
What kind of league do we want the MLS to be? — A skill based, beautiful game or a back and forth, ball bouncing around all the time and players getting knocked around because of how physical the game is?
The actions of Garber and the league (whatever they are) will send a message (whether full intended or not) about what the future of the game in the U.S. will look like. The league has to protect its skillfull players if it wants to foster the growth of skill in the game. Period.
I really, really hope Zak’s recovery is a quick and full as it can be.
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by sounderstalk on Apr 23, 2011 4:14 AM PDT reply actions 1 recs
I recommend a one match ban...
for each time he’s admittedly made that tackle, so that comes out to 100’s of matches. I’m sure Mullan feels awful, but his comments didn’t convey that nearly enough and I really hope the league makes an example of him.
by Sounder Abroad on Apr 23, 2011 10:15 AM PDT up reply actions
The suspension should not be open-ended
The problem with the “Suspend him for as long as Zakuani is out” argument is what it would open the door on. Plenty of injuries will result this season, and every season, from legal tackles or even just an accident. If Mullan has to sit for a year or more for this, think about the next time someone takes a knock during a game. Let’s say two players go up for a header, collide, and one guy sprains his ankle by landing funny as a result. That’s a month or more out; should the other player, whose actions caused the injury, have to sit out for a month? Of course not. However, an indefinite Mullan suspension would leave that standard out there, and people could ask for it to be applied. To me, it’s a little too close to Pandora’s Box for comfort.
I’m not at all trying to soften the punishment on Mullan; you simply can’t go in like that. No amount of anger at a non-call or desperation to get to a ball justifies or even mitigates it. You have to be able to control your anger so that you’re not out there possibly putting careers in jeopardy. In my mind, less than 8 games would be both a travesty and a terrible black eye for MLS from a PR perspective. Even thinking in utterly pragmatic terms, MLS pretty much has to throw the book at Mullan.
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by ChestRockwell on Apr 23, 2011 5:12 AM PDT reply actions 1 recs
I've heard people say this...
But I hope that’s not what you think I’m suggesting. As long as MLS sends a clear message, I think that works.
Editor/writer at Sounder at Heart, MLS editor SB Nation. Follow me on Twitter
by Jeremiah Oshan on Apr 23, 2011 7:52 AM PDT up reply actions
I hear what you're saying
and mostly agree. It’s a slippery slope. But Mullen clearly got a straight red for what was deemed in the moment, an egregious foul. A knock or collision doesn’t fall into that category. Fact is, most injuries don’t come on the heals of a red or yellow and don’t constitute anything other than aggressive play. This went over that line and it isn’t a difficult line to discern in most cases (yes, that was a qualifier).
Totally understandable
but I think there is a difference between an accidental injury on a hard & legal tackle, and what was quite obviously an intentionally malicious foul. Mullan looked like a linebacker coming hard on a QB’s blind side.
Right...
…I don’t think we can tie Mullan’s suspension to Zakuani’s specific recovery. If nothing else, Mullan gets off light this way if Zak is a quick healer.
If we are going to tie suspension length to injuries, it should be to how long one would expect a player to miss given the severity of the challenge. For instance, Wolff could easily have been out for 2-4 games after Beckham scissored him. It would not have been outrageous, in my view, for Beckham to have been suspended 2-4 games for that challenge. When Carrasco was suspended for one game for his bad challenge on Nyarko, I think it could have been longer, since it wouldn’t have been surprising for Nyarko to have gotten hurt worse.
Having had my tib/fib broken
not once, but twice playing soccer, you can imagine the screaming.
Now the maybe good news/bad news: the injury can heal in as little as 10-14 weeks, given fixation and a healthy body. Another month to six weeks for stabilization and training. He could be back in September. BUT, it’s the psychological part that really takes time. Figure a year before he starts running with complete abandon again. Fact is, he may never feel comfortable going for 50/50 balls the rest of his career.
by swansuite on Apr 23, 2011 5:48 AM PDT reply actions 1 recs
Just FYI, I changed the way this was laid out...
Didn’t think it was necessary to have that still on the front page
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Devil's Advocate here
Emotionally I believe he should be suspended for as long as Zak is out.
But Mullen doesn’t have a history of being dirty. Hard and aggressive? Yes. Dirty? No.
It was the third minute. Anybody who plays knows a player isn’t 100% that early in the match. It takes a little more time before players are able to settle into the pace of the match. Touches are missed, passes and shots are sprayed, timing is off, and tackles are missed.
Lastly, Zak makes many people miss. I couldn’t come close to lining him up on a tackle. I’d miss my yards. Mullen misses my inches.
I don't thnk he should be suspended indefinitely
But just look at how late he comes in. He didn’t miss. He hit his target almost too perfectly.
Editor/writer at Sounder at Heart, MLS editor SB Nation. Follow me on Twitter
by Jeremiah Oshan on Apr 23, 2011 8:30 AM PDT up reply actions
It's rare..
… when I react as vehemently as I did BEFORE seeing the replay, but I was immediately filled with disgust, and felt instinctively Zak was severely hurt. Then I watched successive replays from the 2 angles, and my heart broke for him.
I believe you captured the thrust of Mullan’s intent. And it was callous, and essentially heinous.
There were 2 instances I recall vividly when injuries were brutal to watch… the football tackles on Joe Theisman and Napolean McCallum… but those hits were without malice.
Unfortunately, no punishment will serve to immediately reinstate the pagentry and gracefulness that Steve Zakuani provided playing soccer every time he took the field. I hope to God that this young man can bless us with his full talents again, and very soon~
by roadrunner11 on Apr 23, 2011 10:31 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Poor argument
Many coaches, players, and GMs have defended their physical players with similar arguments of the years. Essentially they’ll get all offended when someone criticizes their team’s physical play and claim that they play “hard but fair”. At this point I say BS and I hope the league does to (to some extent they already are). More cards for reckless tackles (even when there isn’t an injury).
The sad thing is that I cynically believe that if Mullan hadn’t broken Zakuani’s leg, that probably wouldn’t have even been a yellow given the timing in the game. Hopefully I’m wrong. Hopefully the league is serious about this and will continue to encourage ref’s do dish our reds for crap like this. I don’t care if we’re the most carded league in the world for a few years. If the shoe fits…
That Red Card was out before the Ref had any idea about the extent of injury
It was purely for intent
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Yup
That red was for how he came in not the result
by SoundersRiot on Apr 23, 2011 1:00 PM PDT up reply actions
So much for young talent
If I was an up and coming talent in South America or Africa I would be really scared to uproot myself to come to a new league. Now the only thing I know about the MLS is that it’s really physical and could lead to a career ending injury; I don’t see many youngsters taking a chance on coming to the MLS in the near future.
All right...
I’m getting a bit tired of this line of debate. Not to pick on you, as lots of people have expressed it, but we need to stop pretending like ths kind of injury is remotely limited to MLS. Is MLS physical? Yes, there’s not question about it. But I’ve seen no research to suggest that bad injuries like this are remotely more common here than they are in any other league.
Editor/writer at Sounder at Heart, MLS editor SB Nation. Follow me on Twitter
by Jeremiah Oshan on Apr 23, 2011 8:53 AM PDT up reply actions 2 recs
In other leagues there are hard tackles
but this was clearly retaliation. But I agree with you that this type of injury happens in all the leagues.
And there's retaliation in every league too
Editor/writer at Sounder at Heart, MLS editor SB Nation. Follow me on Twitter
by Jeremiah Oshan on Apr 23, 2011 9:35 AM PDT up reply actions
Good point
I don’t think you’ll see any players refusing to play in any league on earth because of an injury to a single player. Will players refuse to play in the EPL because of de Jong? I don’t buy that this is any different (except that Mullan probably won’t have as many incidents as de Jong has had).
It may not be limited to MLS...
…but I don’t think that there is the worst-of-all-worlds combination of thuggishness (oops…I meant “physicality”), tolerance of such by officials, and extremely low, salary-capped pay elsewhere. Why risk the end of an up-and-coming career for peanuts? If I were one of the hypothetical players mentioned here, I would seriously consider any second-division club in Europe over MLS — and I can see why Edson Buddle preferred a German second-division team to a starring role on the Galaxy..
by regnaD kciN on Apr 23, 2011 11:12 AM PDT up reply actions
Of all those reasons...
I honestly think the only one that really matters to players is pay. I just don’t buy at all that players regularly avoid MLS because they are afraid of getting hurt.
Editor/writer at Sounder at Heart, MLS editor SB Nation. Follow me on Twitter
by Jeremiah Oshan on Apr 23, 2011 11:19 AM PDT up reply actions
I agree
As a matter of fact I can’t recall hearing of even one player that decided not to come because of the physical play.
by SoundersRiot on Apr 23, 2011 1:02 PM PDT up reply actions
Video of Mullan's statement, you be the judge
I just watched the video of Mullan making his post-game statement. I suggest you watch it soon as it will probably be taken down if the bad press storm continues. In the text of the article on how Mullan feels about it (also links to the video), they’ve already omitted the “I’d probably do it again” part.
In the video, when he says “I’d probably do it again” he says it almost in resignation, as if he has no control over his actions, as if it’s just something he does that he wishes he didn’t but can’t control. Either that or he’s resigned to the fact that this is how the league is and there’s nothing he can do about it but play along. Either way, this is rediculous and shameful. MLS needs to make an example out of him and needs to keep the cards coming as long as reckless, physical challenges continue. We have a higher number of cards across the league this season, and frankly, that’s probably the only way to clean up this brutal league. There may be a few unwaranted cards, but I’ll take those in the name of putting MLS’s house in order.
Mullan
I think he probably feels bad, but he seems to think this was all some tragic accident, not something in which he played the most significant part. Maybe that’s how he has to feel, as he’s a professional athlete, but it’s also why the league needs to send a message.
Editor/writer at Sounder at Heart, MLS editor SB Nation. Follow me on Twitter
by Jeremiah Oshan on Apr 23, 2011 9:37 AM PDT up reply actions
Agreed
Not saying he doesn’t feel bad. It happend, he was involved and he admits that (kind of has to with the video evidence). I just don’t think he feels responsible. Like you say, he’s thinking it was some freak accident out of anyone’s control.
More than a harsh punishment on Mullan (which I think will come), I’d like to see a statement or press release from the league that this is not going to be tolerated any longer and for them to lay out a clear plan on how they’re going to work even more closely with US Soccer to ensure that the reckless play is identified and penalized (whether or not there is an injury).
One of the posters on the SSFC forum is an amateur ref...
…and he made a similar point last night: the big problem with refereeing in U.S. soccer is the “no harm, no foul” attitude that allows blatantly reckless fouls, that would get red-carded anywhere else in the world, to go unpunished as long as no injury results. (Perhaps it’s the mindset of wanting to show U.S. viewers that, contrary to conventional wisdom among too many in this country, soccer isn’t a “sissy sport?”) In any event, adopting a zero-tolerance policy for fouls that could result in serious injury, instead of merely those that do result in such injuries, might go a long way toward cleaning up the quality of play in MLS…even if it might mean that we get a few matches ending with 9 versus 9 before players learn to adjust to the new situation.
by regnaD kciN on Apr 23, 2011 11:20 AM PDT up reply actions
Lots of reds for players where no one was injured
Have we not noticed how many reds have been handed out this year? MLS is on a record pace.
Editor/writer at Sounder at Heart, MLS editor SB Nation. Follow me on Twitter
by Jeremiah Oshan on Apr 23, 2011 11:21 AM PDT up reply actions
Keep it up
With yesterday’s events in mind, I say keep it up. The Sounders have yet to get a red because we don’t play recklessly. It’s been argued before that Alonso is a hard tackler, and I would agree with that. However, I’ve never seen him tackle someone where, if he missed, he could break their leg. He’s always in control.
When less skillful players like Mullan decide they are going to tackle hard and lose control of their body and can’t pull out when they know they’ve missed, they’re making a big gamble. Mullan lost that gamble yesterday and the consequences were devastating.
It’s very possible that not all of the cards issued this season have been merited, but I think a majority of them have. I’m okay with significantly more cards (yellow and red) for the next few seasons if that’s what it takes to make the league less phyisical. At best, players will change their style and decision making, at worst, at least we’ll have the dangerous players suspended more often for red cards and yellow card accumulation.
If you’re MLS, you do what has to be done to protect the players. Zakuani is a victim here and there will be more like him if they don’t continue to clamp it down for an extended period of time (years).
Unguarded
I’m glad we have this video record of what appears to be unscripted and unguarded responses by Brian Mullan.
The conclusions I drew after watching this video are:
1) If the MLS Disciplinary Committee watches this video it surely won’t help mitigate the punishment he is going to get. The hammer is going to fall hard on Brian Mullan.
2) It’s been at least two hours since Mullan has been Red Carded. Yet he still does not appear to have composed and collected himself which makes his responses that much more likely to reveal what he really is thinking.
3) His phrasing of “It’s a tackle that I’ve done hundreds of times and would probably do again.” I interpret him as saying that he does not view his style of play as contributing to Steve’s injury. Instead we are left with his implied words that it was only because he did a poor job of executing his attempted tackle that anything bad happened.
4) No acknowledgement that the type of tackle he made or his decision to go for the tackle in the first place was an error in judgement on his part.
5) “Tearful Mullan” – What tears? Talk about spin control. How about “Shook-up Mullan”. For someone who was reported to have been tearful and in the locker room crying after being sent off, the whites of his eyes sure do appear very clear in this video. Visine anyone? Okay, his eyes might be a bit moist, but he sure doesn’t look all that incredibly broken up about this.
6) The cynic and angry fan in me says the only reason he is still upset and was tearful was because he got carded (caught being a bad boy), not because he messed up. I really want to believe he is upset that his actions ended up severely injuring another human being.
A comment on the play itself. Watching the replay of the injury again I am struck at just how fast Brian Mullan was going and the speed differential between Mullan and Zakuani. Even before contact is made the tackle has train wreck written all over it.
Another Recovery
I can’t remember all the details off hand, but it’s encouraging to know that he’s come back from a difficult injury before. It was a moped accident, so not playing soccer but it kept him out of the game for a year and he almost gave it up after that. He developed some mental toughness from that which will serve him well now.
I am bothered most by two things
First, Mullan’s reaction. Admittedly, half-assed apologies are a pet peeve of mine, but come on. In any league, that’s a no-brainer red card challenge. You apologize for making a poor tackle, you mention that you hope Zakuani is able to recover soon, that you feel terrible about it, and hell, even apologize to your team for letting them down so early in the game. Then you shut up and wait for your punishment. Other people can make excuses for you, but if you’re really going to apologize, don’t start making excuses like you’ve done it hundreds of times before (which he surely hasn’t.)
Second, I can’t get over that it was so obviously a retaliatory foul. Professionals should be expected to be professional. If you get fouled and the ref doesn’t call it, you don’t go find the ball and make a dangerous, rash challenge. Especially in the 4th minute of the game. What Mullan did was totally unprofessional, and in my view, that in and of itself should lengthen the suspension.
I don’t know what’s a fair suspension exactly, but if the league wants to set a new precedent of longer suspensions for harsh physical challenges, I’d be okay with that new regime.
by ubelmann on Apr 23, 2011 10:15 AM PDT reply actions 4 recs
+1 I agree completely
He delivered a classic ‘non-apology apology’. He needs to come forward and take responsibility for the injury.
by Dizzo on Apr 23, 2011 10:42 AM PDT up reply actions 3 recs
Agreed Dizzo
His statement lacked some feeling of genuineness. He can off as only saying what he was expected to say.
by magistermilitum on Apr 23, 2011 12:52 PM PDT up reply actions
He's basically saying...
…he would have no trouble making that sort of challenge again when he has absolutely no play on the ball. The only way Mullan plays the ball is if he goes through Zak’s leg. Unfortunately, that is precisely what he did.
Bad decisions happen in every match of every sport. Some have unintended and catastrophic consequences. But that doesn’t mean the league shouldn’t apply a harsh punishment here.
For as much whining as NFL players made about that helmet-hit suspensions this year, no one talked about how many of those hits were either fundamentally wrong or executed to make up for a poor play.
Mullan got beat to that ball last night and instead of conceding the play, he chose to attack. That’s a bad decision. If the MLS suspends him a long time, it doesn’t say “don’t make a fair challenge.” It says make good decisions and don’t compensate for being beaten by doing something stupid.
by jayw913 on Apr 23, 2011 11:14 AM PDT reply actions 4 recs
Mullen
Im a UK football fan and this tackle was one of the worst iv ever seen !!! Just before the tackle Mullin was pissed off because he didnt get a decision off the referee, so he got up angry and lunged in with the tackle regardless of the outcome and to be honest we have all seen what his action has done. This guy could have his career ended because of this challenge. Absouletly disgraceful.. They should throw the key away , football does not need people like this in the game.
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