Major League Soccer has suspended Clint Dempsey for three games in response to his actions during the Seattle Sounders' U.S. Open Cup match against the Portland Timbers.
After referee Daniel Radford sent off Micheal Azira in extra time, reducing the Sounders to eight men, Dempsey grabbed the official's notebook and threw it to the ground. Radford issued Dempsey a yellow for dissent, but took out his red card when Dempsey picked up the notebook and ripped it in half.
Though this occurred in an Open Cup match, U.S. Soccer's rules state that only a professional player's league can administer punishment. The severity of Dempsey's Open Cup suspension has not yet been determined.
Dempsey's suspension will hold him out of action when the Sounders take on the Philadelphia Union this Wednesday. Seattle will also be missing Obafemi Martins due to injury, leaving Chad Barrett, Lamar Neagle, Victor Mansaray, and Darwin Jones as Sigi Schmid's attacking options in the short term.