Five red cards issued for mass brawl in New York Red Bulls v Club América friendly

One hallmark of Mauricio Pochettino’s time in international management was been his refusal to embrace the term “friendly.” His preferred branding is “unofficial games”.His spin gained a bit of validity on Saturday, in the New York Red Bulls’ “friendly” against Club América, marred by a mass brawl between the sides that resulted in five red cards and a bevy of beverages thrown from the stands.The game itself was odd for a few reasons. First, the Red Bulls have already been eliminated from MLS’s comically forgiving postseason, which means players (aside from veterans like Emil Forsberg) delayed vacations for a glorified scrimmage. Second, the match was announced on 1 October, at which point it was abundantly clear that the NWSL’s Gotham FC, a tenant of the Red Bulls’ Sports Illustrated Stadium, could host a playoff semi-final on the same weekend.That scheduling snafu, combined with the comically poor state of the pitch, became a serious problem for the NWSL club, who settled for 5,000-seat Icahn Stadium for Sunday’s semi-final.For the Red Bulls, the show must go on – and boy, did they, also finding a way to entertain the fans who showed up for the low-stakes affair.The referee issued five red cards after the fracas. Photograph: Jordan Bank/Getty ImagesNot with their soccer exploits, mind you. Playing without the aforementioned veterans and US internationals Julian Hall and Adri Mehmeti, the remaining Red Bulls came ready for a scrap. At one point in the second half, América goalkeeper Rodolfo Cota required treatment for taking a boot above his knee while closing a shooting angle, putting the visitors on alert.Roughly 40 minutes into the second half, this unofficial game abandoned any attempt to be friendly. Mijahir Jiménez dribbled toward the right corner flag, only to be taken down by a defender. He took great umbrage to the nature of the challenge, kicking off a maelstrom of shoves, punches, thrown drinks from the crowd, and men pressing their chests and foreheads together like bighorn rams in the throes of the rutting season.The full sequence lives on thanks to a live watch-along streamed on YouTube, where former Mexico defender Miguel Layún comes to life in his gamer chair and begs his compatriots to keep the fracas alive. The fracas lasted 65 seconds, while the ensuing corner kick came a full seven minutes after Jimenez’s dribble.The only final scoreline from the night that matters: two Red Bulls sent off against three players from América. And, hopefully, a cautionary tale to put an end to meaningless exhibitions like these.