It was an unfortunate incident to end the clash between Real Salt Lake and Nashville SC at Rio Tinto Stadium on Saturday, and now the person at the center of it has spoken.
With Nashville down 2-1 in the 96th minute of play, midfielder Dax McCarty was shown a straight red card by referee Tori Penso after stomping on RSL's Bode Davis in frustration.
McCarty addressed the incident on Sunday through a video shared on his personal Twitter account, in which he offered an apology to Bode and to everyone who was part of the game.
“I need to apologize to everyone that was involved in that game yesterday, to the fans, to the players, my teammates, the RSL coaching staff, my coaching staff, the referees, but especially to Bode Davis, the guy that I put in a very bad situation with my actions,” McCarty said, adding that he called Davis individually to offer his apologies.
“He was great. He seems like a really nice guy, and he accepted my apology,” McCarty said. “I let him know that I let my frustrations got the best of me.”
The Nashville captain went on to explain the situation as he understood it, stating that he lost his cool “in a moment of frustration and weakness.”
“When the ball is there and he’s lying on top of the ball, I don’t see a flag, I don’t hear a whistle. The ball looks like it’s inbounds to me, I tried to backheel it wildly,” he said. “To be quite honest, I don’t know what I was looking to accomplish.”
McCarty said that he accepts any further decision that comes his way from the incident.
The 2-1 result in Utah meant a second straight loss for Nashville after starting the season on a high note with a win against Seattle Sounders FC. Meanwhile, RSL sit second in the Western Conference standings after winning three consecutive matches and remaining undefeated.
McCarty, 35, has played in 414 regular-season games since entering the league in 2006 with FC Dallas. Davis, 20, signed with RSL ahead of the 2021 campaign as a homegrown player.
