ATLANTA – U.S. men's national team coach Gregg Berhalter called Tim Weah's costly first-half red card in a 2-1 loss to Panama in the Copa America on Thursday a “stupid decision,” adding that the striker apologized to his teammates.
Weah received a straight red card in the 18th minute after he reached out his hand and hit Panama defender Roderick Miller in the back of the head in an off-the-ball incident. Weah initially received a yellow card, but this was changed to a red card by referee Iván Barton following a video review.
“We talked about this referee's tendencies beforehand, we knew what he was capable of and frankly I think we played right into his hands,” Berhalter told reporters at a press conference. “And I think we made that decision pretty easily. Tim was jostled, he was checked and he reacted. He apologized to the group and I think he understands what a difficult position he put the group in.”
“It still happened and as a result we lost that game. We have to move on and figure out how to win the next game.”
Folarin Balogun scored for the USMNT four minutes after Weah's red card, but Panama's César Blackman equalized four minutes later. José Fajardo then scored the winning goal for Panama in the 83rd minute, dealing a major blow to the U.S.'s hopes of reaching the quarterfinals.
“I think we had a good start to the game,” Berhalter added. “We scored the goal and it was disallowed. But the game-deciding event is of course the red card and it puts us in a difficult position, but we expected that from them.”
“I can't fault the group's performance, especially after the loss,” added Berhalter. “The boys put in the effort and we were close to coming away with a point. But it's a shame because there was more to this game and a stupid decision by Timmy left us short-handed.”
“Then the whole referee thing went on throughout the game and we were short-staffed. That definitely led to some strange circumstances.”
The USMNT was one man down in the first half against Panama due to Tim Weah's red card. EDUARDO MUNOZ/AFP via Getty Images
Weah's sending off means he is suspended for the match against Uruguay, a match the USA will likely need to win to avoid elimination. And the Juventus player posted his own apology on Instagram after the game, saying he had “let my team and my country down.”
“A moment of frustration led to an irreversible consequence and for that I would like to deeply thank my teammates, coaches, family and our fans,” he wrote.
“I am determined to learn from this experience, not to let any opponent provoke me and to work to regain the trust and respect of my team and my fans.
“No matter what happens, I will always fight for my team and my country until the day I am no longer needed or able to do so. I sincerely apologize to everyone. My love for this team goes beyond football and I am so sad and angry at myself for putting my brothers through what they had to go through tonight.”
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US midfielder Tyler Adams defended Weah's character after receiving only the second red card of his career for club or country, his first coming against Lille in 2022.
“You never want to get a red card, under any circumstances,” Adams told Fox. “He's not that kind of person. He apologized to the team.”
“And respect to the rest of the team, because they fought for every single ball, every single tackle, every single minute. We still created chances even when we were outnumbered, that shows our quality and in the last game everything is at stake.”
His red card was the second-fastest after the start of a game for a USMNT player in the last 40 years and the earliest in a competitive match during that time period.
Jimmy Conrad was sent off in the 17th minute of a friendly match against Honduras in 2010.
The USA suffered another setback at halftime when goalkeeper Matt Turner was substituted and replaced by Ethan Horvath after receiving treatment for several minutes in the first half following a collision with Panama's César Blackman.
Panama's Adalberto Carrasquilla was also sent off in the 88th minute for a hard foul on Christian Pulisic in the heated finale of the match.
Information from ESPN Stats & Information contributed to this report.
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