Football
ESPN staff 7y

Orlando City wins appeal against Rafael Ramos red card vs. Chicago Fire

Orlando City will have Rafael Ramos available for its next MLS fixture against Montreal Impact after it won an appeal against his dismissal in the 0-0 draw with the Chicago Fire.

Orlando was shown two straight red cards in the game, the first coming in the 26th minute when Ramos collided with Brandon Vincent, adjudged to be serious foul play by referee Ted Unkel. Antonio Nocerino was also sent off in the 66th minute, meaning Orlando finished the game with nine men.

An independent panel, consisting of a representative from the United States Soccer Federation, Canadian Soccer Association and the Professional Referees Organization, upheld the appeal.

The performance of Unkel was criticised by many Orlando fans, with the club condemning a social media post that targeted him.

The Twitter post came from an account that purports to belong to the president of the Ruckus supporters' group. The Ruckus group's official Twitter account retweeted the post, which was deleted Tuesday morning.

"When you have a lot of free time on Summer vacation," the post said, adding the hashtag: UnleashThe Ruckus. It went on to include the referee's business address and phone number.

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