United States midfielder Jermaine Jones, second from right, protests to referee Wilmar Roldan, second from left, after Roldan gave Jones a red card in the second half of a Copa America Centenario soccer match against Ecuador, Thursday, June 16, 2016 at CenturyLink Field in Seattle. The United States beat Ecuador 2-1. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
HOUSTON (AP) – The U.S. Soccer Federation's appeals of a red card given to midfielder Jermaine Jones and a yellow card assessed to forward Bobby Wood have been dismissed.
The decision Sunday will leave the U.S. without both players Tuesday night for the Copa America semifinal against Argentina in Houston.
Jones was given the red card Thursday night in the quarterfinals by Colombian referee Wilmar Roldán during a 52nd-minute confrontation that also saw Ecuador winger Antonio Valencia sent off after a second yellow card for a harsh tackle on Alejandro Bedoya. U.S. players immediately rushed to the scrum after Valencia's tackle, and Jones raised an arm at Michael Arroyo.
U.S. team spokesman Michael Kammarman said the Jones appeal was based on Law 12 of the revised Laws of the Game, which states a player who "deliberately strikes an opponent or any other person on the head or face with the hand or arm is guilty of violent conduct unless the force used was negligible."
Wood, already carrying a yellow card coming in, was given another in the 53rd minute. The USSF said it should not have been assessed because the ball was dead, claiming that because Jones remained on the field, the restart should not have taken place. The USSF also said the restart took place at the spot of the red card, not of Woods' foul.
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