Post-Game Scrum Adds Some Intrigue To Sounders' Busy Week

UPDATE: In an email sent to Chicago Fire media they have confirmed that Jalil Anibaba recieved a Red Card after the whistle. Also stated in the email was that Frank Klopas was dismissed from the field by the referee (the coaching equal of a Red).

For most of us, there were two main emotions we felt at the end of the Seattle Sounders' 2-1 win over the Chicago Fire on Saturday.

1. Whew, that was a tense one.

2. Hey, what the heck is going on?

The first should be self-explanatory. The second had to do with the scrum that erupted just after the whistle blew. It's tough to say exactly what all led up to it, but Jalil Anibaba's tackle on Leo Gonzalez just as the game ended (which may or may not have earned him a red card) certainly appears to be the spark that finally ignited it.

The Times' Joshua Mayers has a pretty solid rundown of what happened. Basically, there was a lot of words being exchanged, a few shoves and Brad Evans, in particular, looked like he was ready to meet Marco Pappa in the parking lot. Despite all the chest-puffing, it doesn't appear to have ever really gotten out of hand.

Evans, who may have received the "worst" of the situation when he was apparently slapped, summed it up this way in talking to Mayers: "It is what it is. We'll move on, take the three points and leave them with nothing."

Of course, that hasn't stopped some from trying to characterize this as an "NHL-style fight" and make the laughably hyperbolic claim that "What Jhon Kennedy Hurtado did to Fire midfielder Marco Pappa makes Zidane's World Cup headbutt look like a pat on the rear, and we have the photos to prove it happened."

You really should check out their "evidence," which really shows Hurtado grabbing Pappa more by the shoulder than giving him anything resembling a choke hold. If you have MLS Live, you can watch the incident in full time and see that Hurtado's hand was near Pappa's throat for less than 1 second.

The MLS Disciplinary Committee being as active as it has been, I suppose we shouldn't be shocked if some suspensions are handed down. But like so many sports fights, there was a lot more barking than biting going on. Considering no one got hurt and neither side was really complaining about the incident afterward, I'm more expecting nothing more than some fines to be passed out.