FRISCO, Texas – As the players were walking off the pitch after the halftime whistle, FC Dallas captain David Ferreira and his teammate Jackson went nose-to-nose in a heated discussion.
And the matter quickly escalated from there (watch video above).
Each player appeared to throw a punch at the other right as Andrew Jacobson stepped in between them to play peacemaker. Both players continued jawing at one another and had to be restrained and separated by teammates. The confrontation did not end there, according to coach Schellas Hyndman.
“When they came into the locker room, they were still going at each other and I decided to pull [Jackson] out of the lineup,” Hyndman told reporters after the match. “We can never reward bad behavior with professional athletes, or with children. We’re trying to win the game and if you can’t get it right in the locker room, you can’t get it right on the field. So that was the decision I made and I think we responded to it.”
Blas Pèrez was inserted into the lineup at the beginning of the second half in place of Jackson and Dallas went on to score two goals to win the game 2-0. Jackson was unavailable to speak to reporters after the match as he had already left the stadium, but Ferreria explained what started the incident.
“It was in the heat of the moment almost at the end of the half, I just came and told Jackson… [to] be aware of teammates that are in an open position,” Ferreira explained through an interpreter.
Ferreira went on to say that for him, the dustup is already history and that there won't be any lingering ill-will between the two teammates.
“Because of the heat of the moment, how important for everyone the game was and getting the result, both of us reacted, but by the time we were up in the locker room it was forgotten on a personal basis. It’s over, nothing happened. Everyone wants to win, we’re a team made up of winners and when those things happen you react in a personal way that’s forgotten, that’s all done.”
Matt Barbour covers FC Dallas for MLSsoccer.com.
