Someone didn't read the handbook.
In a story first reported by IMSoccer News(see the full report here), the New York Red Bulls were fined $500 by the US Soccer Federation for including an ineligible player in their squad for last Tuesday's third-round US Open Cup victory over the Charleston Battery.
The player in question was defender Tyler Ruthven, who was scheduled to serve a one-game suspension for a red card received back in 2010 when he played for the Harrisburg City Islanders, the same team that will face NYRB in the fourth round of the USOC this coming Tuesday. Instead, Ruthven appeared on the bench in Charleston and was an unused substitute.
"Since the player did not go into the match and therefore did not have an impact on the outcome of the match, the result between NY and Charleston [3-0 NYRB win] will stand," a US Soccer spokesman informed MLSsoccer.com on Saturday afternoon.
The Red Bulls did not comment on the story when contacted on Saturday by MLSsoccer.com.
According to US Soccer, the fine was levied by the Open Cup Adjudication and Discipline Panel and Ruthven will now be required to serve the one-game suspension on Tuesday against Harrisburg.
