MONTREAL – Most workers relish going home early on their birthday. Not Laurent Ciman.
On the night when he turned 30, Ciman only played 79 minutes of the 90. Referee Ted Unkel showed him a second yellow card for a slide on Sal Zizzo, sending Ciman to an early bath as the Montreal Impact drew 1-1 at home against the New York Red Bulls on Wednesday night at Stade Saputo.
It was a gift Ciman would have done without. While he was okay with his first yellow card, a blatant handball that Red Bulls coach Jesse Marsch thought warranted a dismissal, he couldn’t understand why he’d picked up the second.
“The first card, I voluntarily handle. Yellow card, no worries," Ciman told reporters postgame. “But I commit two fouls in the game, and I get a red. My second, it’s nothing bad. I touch the ball. If I don’t touch the ball… there’s no reason for a card [anyway]. [The referees] have to use their psychology, and today I don’t think they did, quite simply.”
Ciman actually committed four fouls in the match, but was correct in saying that he touched the ball on his tackle attempt on Zizzo. Whether it was a foul or not was ultimately Unkel's call.
Asked about the decision during his postgame press conference, Montreal head coach Frank Klopas wasn’t particularly impressed, calling for “more respect for certain players that we have.”
“When it’s a fair call, it’s a fair call. You have to call it,” Klopas said. “But how many times does [Ignacio] Piatti go down and never gets a call? It’s amazing how some players don’t get protected, from our team. But whatever. I think things even out, long-term, but I just want a little bit more respect for our team and for our players.”
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The silver lining, for Ciman could be that he will be getting a rest on Saturday when league leaders D.C. United are in town.
But that, too, is a birthday gift he’d rather pass on to an unfamiliar relative that he dislikes.
“I didn’t want a break,” Ciman said. “I’m really disappointed to miss a can’t-miss game against the conference leaders. I’m angry, disappointed. It’s a tough pill to swallow.”
