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Rodolph Austin got a red card in the Reggae Boyz's crucial match against Costa Rica on Tuesday. The player will miss tomorrow's must-win game against El Salvador. - file MIAMI, Florida:
RODOLPH AUSTIN is having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that he got a "harsh red card" in Jamaica's CONCACAF Gold Cup match against Costa Rica.
Worse yet, the midfielder believes the sending off impacted on his team's 1-0 loss and further eroded its chances of qualifying for the quarter-finals.
"It's a bit harsh to be honest because it's happening here and it's happening at my club," noted Austin, who admitted to not being able to sleep later that night.
"I got a red card for nothing and it's really hard on me; as an individual and on behalf of the team I am very sorry for what happened. It's just a rough situation for me to deal with," he lamented.
Austin described the play, saying the foul was magnified by the fact that the legs of his Costa Rican opponent, Celso Borges, got entangled with his, which made it appear far worse than it really was.
"The player got the ball, he pushed it past me and I was running behind him to win the ball. His legs got between both my legs and we both fell," pointed out Austin, who turned 24 on June 1. "He fell on the ball and I was trying to toe away the ball in the same motion, I was on the ground and that's it, the referee came and gave me a red card."
shocked
He added: "I was very shocked because I think if anything should've come out of it, it should have been a yellow card because I got into a tangle with the player. But I didn't kick him for him to fall at first, his legs got between both of my legs. It's rough.
"I'm not a malicious player. I play rough but I'm not a malicious player. I wouldn't try to hurt someone because this is our job and if I hurt someone they can't provide for their family."
Austin was expelled at the 35th minute, with the Jamaicans clearly dominating the match and creating some good chances to score.
Costa Rica ultimately took advantage of the numerical odds to score the only goal at the 64th minute when Borges burst into the penalty box to use the side of his foot and volley a cross past Donovan Ricketts.
"I feel very, very bad in terms of me not helping the team because the team really needed the help and at that time. When I was on the field we were dominating and the game changed and stuff," Austin admitted. "I think I let the team down in terms of that red card but, as I said, it's just a hard time for me now because it's just when I was getting into the game and was enjoying it and stuff and I knew that by doing that we would have been victorious."
disappointed
Austin was not readily receiving support from some of his teammates who believe he deserved the booking.
Another factor some think might have worked against Austin include things that were said in the team's dressing room to the referee, American Jair Marrufo, when he worked as the fourth official for their opening game against Canada at the Home Depot Center in Los Angeles.
While checking off the team, Marrufo was said to have instructed the Jamaicans to cut away certain things from their gear and may have taken offense at being asked if he would have done the same things to Ronaldo and other big-name players.
Austin, though, said he has been encouraged by team captain Ricardo Gardner while largely remaining by himself in his low moment.
"I haven't spoken to anyone because it hurts really bad and I feel disappointed about the result ... . I just stay by myself and try to get a reality check and try to move on from that," he said.
"I spoke to Ricardo (Gardner) and he said it's a learning process and I should learn from it and so forth."
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