Nigel “The Destroyer” de Jong committed an awful foul, yesterday April 10th 2016, against Darlington Nagbe.The foul left Darlington Nagbe in a wheelchair and unable to put pressure on his ankle. Nagbe who was selected 2nd overall in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft is a young pacey winger who has a bright future for both the Portland Timbers and the United States National Team, but now all of that is in doubt. Though MRI’s and X-ray results have yet to come back, the fact that Nagbe couldn’t put any weight on his left ankle doesn’t bode well for him. The foul which only resulted in a yellow card by referee Allen Chapman and is shown below was clearly not a legal tackle and deserved more than a yellow card.
And the worst part is this fits right into de Jong’s “Destroyer” play style.
The fact of the matter is Nigel De Jong is a dirty player who has a history of awful tackles. De Jong fractured Hatem Ben Arfa’s tibia and fibula with a tackle in 2010, the same year he broke Stuart Holden’s leg in a friendly against the United States and kicked Xabi Alonso square in the chest in the World Cup Final. Interestingly enough none of these fouls resulted in de Jong receiving a red card, and the foul that occurred in Premier League play wasn’t punished by FA (Football Association). The MLS can not follow suit, they must punish de Jong.
Nigel de Jong has had a history of disastrous, dirty tackles both on the international and club level and the fact that de Jong continues to make these awful tackles should be worrisome for the LA Galaxy and the MLS as a whole. As the MLS Disciplinary Committee looks into this case they should consider de Jong’s past and give him a penalty that makes it clear to him that such tackles will not be tolerated in their league.
Works Cited
Borg, Simon. “Stuart Holden Comments on Nigel De Jong’s Foul on Darlington Nagbe on FS1.” MLSsoccer.com. N.p., 11 Apr. 2016. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.
Draper, Kevin. “Nigel De Jong Brought His Horror Tackles With Him To MLS.” Screamer. Deadspin, 11 Apr. 2016. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.
Rosenblatt, Ryan. “Nigel De Jong’s Red Card Escape Was a Symptom of a Badly Refereed Game.” FOX Sports. N.p., 11 Apr. 2016. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.
