Rafael Marquez of the New York Red Bulls and Juninho of the LA Galaxy were given red cards for a post-match altercation following Sunday's 1-0 victory by the Galaxy in the first leg of an aggregate playoff series between the two teams at Red Bull Arena. Both players will be suspended for Thursday's second leg of the series.
Marquez caused the altercation by throwing a ball at a Galaxy player after final whistle ended the game. The referee in charge of the game, Alex Prus, handed down the red cards to Marquez and Juninho for their parts in the post-game scuffle. Marquez, while having a disappointing year, is still an integral part of the Red Bulls midfield. He has a great game IQ and it will be missed in what surely is a must win game. Juninho has been a key member of the Galaxy midfield and will be missed when the Galaxy host the Red Bulls at home on Thursday.
The winner of the series will be determined by the aggregated score of the two matches. Without Marquez the Red Bulls will have an even more difficult time generating the offense they will need to advance.