Barcelona star Sergino Dest is lambasted by his own team-mates on the pitch – and with some ‘choice words’ in a dressing room row – after two brainless yellows in 30 seconds earned USA a red card
- The incident occurred during the United States’ game against Trinidad & Tobago
- Sergino Dest punted the ball away from the field in addition to arguing
- DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news
United States men’s national team defender Sergino Dest was ejected from the team’s match for picking up two yellow cards less than 20 seconds apart on Monday night.
In the USA’s second leg of the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal against Trinidad & Tobago, Dest took exception with a call from the referee where he thought he kept the ball in bounds. Referee Walter Lopez saw things differently.
Upon hearing the call for a throw in to Trinidad & Tobago, Dest immediately picked up the ball and punted it off the field, picking up his first yellow card of the match.
Dest was trying to be consoled by teammates, including Gio Reyna and Yunus Musah. At times, Reyna held his hand over his teammate’s mouth, likely to shield his cuss words from being picked up by cameras.
After appearing to eventually cross the line with his rant, Lopez pulled out a second yellow card for Dest, who, after receiving his marching orders, blew a kiss in the referee’s direction and continued to shout.
Sergino Dest was sent off for picking up two yellow cards less than 20 seconds apart
Referee Walter Lopez showed the defender his second yellow for dissent in the 39th minute
Fruious USA captain Tim Ream was quick to get into Dest’s face as he walked off the field
The American captain for the evening, Fulham’s Tim Ream, who is usually calm and collected, was seen furious yelling in Dest’s face as he walked off the field.
Ream was joined quickly by USMNT goalkeeper Matt Turner, who plays for Premier League club Nottingham Forest, in expressing his fury at Dest.
At one point, Turner was seen shoving Dest to walk off the field quicker, while the defender was still animatedly talking at someone, most likely Lopez, who was off-camera.
Following the game, Ream revealed there were ‘choice words’ for Dest at halftime.
‘Not too many things I can say here publicly that we said privately,’ Ream said. ‘It´s a complete lack of respect for the guys that are playing, for the guys that are on the bench. It´s a lack of respect for the game itself, for the referees.’
Dest will be suspended for the Nations League semifinal in March. He missed this year’s Nations League final after getting a red card and a three-game ban for scuffling in the semifinal against Mexico.
‘It´s inexcusable,’ US coach Gregg Berhalter said. ‘It was surreal.’
‘It is concerning because that´s not what we represent, that´s not who we are as a group,’ Berhalter added.
Dest’s outburst was quickly vilified by his teammates including Matt Turner (pictured)
Following the game, Ream revealed there were ‘choice words’ for Dest at halftime
‘We pride ourselves in staying mentally disciplined, battling through any type of conditions. Whether they´re good decisions or bad decisions, we´re supposed to keep going and respond in an appropriate way, and that obviously wasn´t the right response from Sergino. He apologized to the group. He said it´s not going to happen again. As a team, the players, the staff, we need to hold him accountable.’
The United States was up 4-0 on aggregate of the Nations League quarterfinal at the time of the incident.
However, Trinidad and Tobago’s Reon Moore scored against the 10-man United States four minutes after Dest saw red to draw Monday’s game level.
After the game, Dest apologized for his behavior on Instagram.
‘I want to apologize to my Teammates, Staff, Fans and whole nation for my behaviour it was unacceptable, Selfish and immature I let my team down!’ Dest said. ‘It’s something I have to learn from and it won’t happen again!’
In a postgame interview, USA defender Antonee Robinson called Dest’s display ‘moment of unprofessionalism.’
Dest apologized for his actions after the game on Instagram by saying ‘it won’t happen again’
Following a 3-0 win last week at Austin, Texas, Robinson scored in the 25th minute off Dest’s cross to give the 11th-ranked US a four-goal series lead in the Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal.
But after Dest’s two yellow cards in a matter of 30 seconds in the 39th minute, Trinidad and Tobago were able to launch a comeback.
With the US a man short, Reon Moore tied the score in the 43rd. Alvin Jones put the 99th-ranked Soca Warriors ahead in the 57th with a 30-yard free kick off the hands of goalkeeper Matt Turner, who tried to parry the swerving shot.
Jones scored a similar long-range goal in October 2017 against Tim Howard in a 2-1 win at Couva, about 20 miles south, that ended the Americans’ streak of World Cup appearances at seven.
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