It was one of major talking points from Friday night's 2-1 win by FC Dallas over Real Salt Lake: the first-half red card shown to FCD forward Blas Perez.
Technically, it was a second yellow issued by referee Ismail Elfath for what he would later explain was "for unsporting behavior by embellishing contact."
Do you think Blas Perez should have received a second yellow for embellishment vs. RSL?
Real Salt Lake manager Jeff Cassar was in agreement with the decision.
“Both of his cards came from contact off the ball," Cassar said after the match. "That's up to the referees to decide, but it seemed like he [Perez] didn't have to do any of that, but I thought he did fall down for no reason.”
There's another side to this story. And it's presented by Perez's coach, Oscar Pareja, who came out in defense of his target man.
“I think he has been stigmatized in the league and that's unfair," Pareja argued in the postgame. "Blas - that's his heart and that's the way he plays. Sometimes that's not what’s seen because the defenders don't like to have someone that's working as hard as he works. They normally just have people making diagonals and runs but Blas is working and fighting for the ball and using his body."
Which side are you on? Do you agree with Cassar that Perez was embellishing? Or do you side with Pareja that Perez has been stigmatized for his style of play? Vote in the poll and share your comments below.
