Atlanta United may appeal Barco red card

Atlanta United may have one very important player back but could be missing another when it hosts NYCFC on Wednesday in a game with MLS playoff implications at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Midfielder Ezequiel Barco received a red card during Saturday’s 2-0 win at Toronto. The decision by referee Timothy Ford means that Barco, who has seven goals and seven assists, is ineligible to play on Wednesday. Manager Gonzalo Pineda said he hopes the team will “do something,” which would be an appeal, of the decision.

The red card came after Barco and Toronto’s Auro Jr. could be seen going head-to-head in the 84th minute of the game. Both players were sent off for “violent conduct.” Pineda said he doesn’t think either player’s conduct rose to the level of a red card and that he thought the game, at times, wasn’t being managed well.

Atlanta United has successfully appealed one red card to Jake Mulraney this season. Teams are allowed two unsuccessful appeals each season. It isn’t known if the team has unsuccessfully appealed any decisions. The only possible one would have been for a card received by Josef Martinez against Montreal.

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Appeals of red cards are reviewed by a panel composed of one representative from the U.S. Soccer Federation, one representative from the Canadian Soccer Association and one independent representative nominated by the Professional Referee Organization. Their decisions are typically announced the day before the next round of games. If Barco’s red card is appealed, the decision should be announced on Tuesday.

While Barco’s status is to be determined, Pineda said that leading goal-scorer Martinez should rejoin the team for training on Sunday and should be available for Wednesday. He cautioned that Martinez’s status remains day to day. He didn’t travel with the team to Toronto.

Without Martinez, the team played with Barco and Luiz Araujo, who scored Saturday’s first goal, as a “false nine” strikers.

After Saturday’s victory, Atlanta United moved from eighth to fifth in the East. It has 42 points with five games remaining. The top seven teams at season’s end will advance to the playoffs. Atlanta United leads eighth-place NYCFC by two points. It trails fourth-place Orlando by three points. NYCFC will play Red Bulls, which has 37 points, on Sunday.

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Atlanta United’s 2021 MLS schedule

April 17 Atlanta United 0, Orlando 0

April 24 Atlanta United 3, Chicago 1

May 1 New England 2, Atlanta United 1

May 9 Atlanta United 1, Inter Miami 1,

May 15 Atlanta United 1, Montreal 0

May 23 Atlanta United 1, Seattle 1