Coaches, referees, players culpable for soccer violence

Wow! That was my first response when I saw the highlights this morning of Thursday's soccer match between the women's teams of the University of New Mexico and Brigham Young University.

Once you see the video, you'll notice New Mexico's Elizabeth Lambert (15) is responsible for some heinous fouls in this game and deserves the indefinite suspension she received Friday from UNM.

However, the UNM coach and the four referees at this game also are culpable.



The hair yank, the take down, the trip, the vicious slide tackle all could have been prevented if the referees had done their job on the very first foul involving BYU's Carlee Payne and Ms. Lambert.

Payne gave an elbow to Lambert's gut. Lambert responded by quasi-punching Payne in the back.

Had the referees issued red cards to both Lambert and Payne for that transgression, the other incidents never would have happened. I've seen red cards issued for much less and been on the receiving end of a few myself. Lambert's and Payne's actions were clearly deserving of immediate ejections. But none came; heck, not even a yellow. Wow.

Even if they missed that exchange, there was ample opportunity to show Lambert the dressing room for the other incidents, but she received only a yellow for a late-game trip. Then she had the audacity to argue the call? Wow.

I would make the case that the UNM coach equally is to blame. While these athletes are adults, the coach has an immediate responsibility to wrangle in the wild mares when they've gone astray. UNM's coach should have benched Lambert immediately after the hair incident. No victory is worth allowing a player to put another in immediate and serious risk of injury through intentional violence.

The victim of that attack, Kassidy Shumway, appears to be making "oh-come-on" faces to the referee immediately before she's dragged down by her locks. Again, Lambert should have been ejected immediately for that.

Mountain West Conference says it is still investigating the matter. BYU's athletic director applauded New Mexico's decision to suspend Lambert. Ms. Lambert apologized. Is that enough?

This was an unacceptable game on many levels and deserves serious action from Mountain West and refereeing associations. Lambert should not be the only one to serve a suspension.

Are coaches and referees culpable in the games they're a part of when players go bad?