Red Bulls Call Officiating In Game Vs. Portland 'Completely Unacceptable'

The New York Red Bulls have issued a statement regarding what the organization is calling "completely unacceptable’ officiating during Sunday’s 3-3 draw against the Portland Timbers.

"We have carefully reviewed the film of our match against Portland last night and I can safely say that the level of refereeing was absolutely below the standards of what is required for a MLS match and completely unacceptable. First, the red card given to Thierry Henry was inexplicable. There was no violent conduct on his part whatsoever and this decision was made by a linesman who was more than half a field away. Second, in any soccer game, there is no way that one team can draw 20 more fouls than the other team, especially in a match where one team drew just five fouls. I have never seen this occur in my 30 years in the game.

We are aware that U.S. Soccer and MLS are working hard to improve the officiating in this country and we support those efforts wholeheartedly. However, if we want to continue increasing the level of play, we cannot let these types of refereeing performances occur. We look forward to speaking with the League to appeal Thierry’s automatic red card suspension and expect that it will be rescinded so that he is available for our match Thursday in Seattle."

The Red Bulls were called for 25 fouls during the match to just five for Portland. New York drew four yellow cards and one red, while Portland drew two yellow cards.

The referee was Ricardo Salazar. Referee’s assistants were Peter Manikowski, and Claudio Badea.

-- See the video of the incident that led to the red card

Red Bulls 3, Timbers 3: De Rosario Late PK Gets New York A Draw

Dwayne De Rosario’s 96th minute penalty kick conversion helped give the New York Red Bulls a 3-3 tie against the Portland Timbers in a wild encounter. New York’s Austin da Luz recorded his first ever MLS goal and assist, while Thierry Henry also found the back of the net, as the Red Bulls rallied from a two-goal deficit to earn a point in front of 18,627 spectators at a sold out JELD-WEN Field. With the result, New York took the outright lead in the Eastern Conference, improving to 23 points off a 5-2-8 record and extending its MLS unbeaten run to six.

The Red Bulls were energetic to start the game and their efforts paid off in the sixth minute. Henry one-timed a da Luz pass from the center of the park to find a streaking Dwayne De Rosario on the left wing. De Rosario slid it towards the top of the box to an open da Luz, who took a touch past a Portland defender and slotted it in with his right foot from near the penalty spot.

The Timbers came back into the match by finding the back of the net twice within the opening five minutes of the second half. First, in the 48th minute, Jack Jewsbury collected a Red Bulls clearance outside of the box and ripped it past New York goalkeeper Greg Sutton and into the back of the net. A minute later, the hosts took the lead and Jewsbury this time was the provider. The midfielder swung in a free kick from the left side that Eric Brunner nodded down to Kevin Goldthwaite, who used his heel to knock it home from close range

Portland nearly notched a third as a Brunner’s header was bound for goal, but New York midfielder Teemu Tainio acrobatically volleyed it off the line. Jewsbury later forced Sutton to dive to his left to parry his attempt away.

The Timbers doubled their advantage in the 68th minute. Forward Jorge Perlaza raced down the right wing and knocked it into the six-yard box. New York defender Stephen Keel tried to clear it but slid it into his own net.

Henry brought the Red Bulls within one again five minutes later. The Frenchman started the play with a run with the ball from the center of the park. He eventually dished it to da Luz, who gave it right back to him in the box. Henry rifled it in with his left foot for his eighth goal of the season.

Portland had a chance moments later to score their forth when Sutton was adjudged to have taken down Perlaza in the box off a breakaway. However, Jewsbury’s ensuing spot kick clanged off the right upright.

With the visitors looking for the game-tying goal, they went down a man in second half stoppage time when Henry was shown a red card for an alleged altercation with a Timbers player. Despite playing with 10 men, the Red Bulls found a last gasp equalizer in the last play of the game. A failed Timbers clearance fell to De Rosario, who rushed to the endline and swung in a cross that hit the arm of Portland’s Rodney Wallace. De Rosario stepped up and powerfully struck it past a correctly-guessing Perkins to give New York the point.

The Red Bulls continue their four-game road trip when they take on Seattle Sounders FC on Thursday night at 10:00 PM ET (TV: ESPN2; Radio: WADO 1280 AM). New York’s next home match is on June 6 when it hosts Toronto FC at 8:00 PM at Red Bull Arena (TV: MSG Plus; Radio: WQBU 92.7 FM).

New York Red Bulls At Portland Timbers: Red Bulls Looking To Continue Streak

It was a big week for the New York Red Bulls,  getting a big win (their first in five matches) over the New England Revolution. 

Thierry Henry (who has been a goal scoring machine of late) got the game winning goal, continuing his fantastic play. His deep runs and long crosses kept the Revolution's defensive corps off balance all night, something the Red Bulls are going to want to see today when they take on the Timbers. 

Still missing some key players due to Gold Cup duties, the Red Bulls are prepared to take on a tough Timbers team in a very difficult environment. From the New York Red Bulls official site:

"The crowd is amazing over there," said Red Bulls forward Thierry Henry.

Though being in their first year in MLS, Timbers Army is building quite an impressive resume of colorful pageantry and loud, stadium-echoing chants. The atmosphere has been brilliant at times, creating plenty of spark for the home team to feed off of.

Midfielder Mehdi Ballouchy watched a recent Timbers home match and was as impressed as Henry with the level of the support.

"It looked like it [was great]," Ballouchy said. "I saw the Colorado-Portland game. It was unbelievable."

But rather than be intimidated by the atmosphere at JELD-WEN, Red Bulls players are looking forward to a packed house their first trip to Portland. In fact, they believe they'll feed off the intensity of the crowd.

The Red Bulls can use another three points, especially after such a big win over the Revolution. New York looks to kick off its Western road trip with a band. The Red Bulls will play Portland, Seattle and Chicago after they take on the Timbers. 

More after the game. 

T.V. Information: 10 p.m. ET (TV: MSG Plus, Galavisión; ROOT-NW; Radio: WQBU 92.7 FM)