ClapSometimes tempers can flare in the world of football, to the point where you just can’t quite control your emotions anymore. We can understand that even without having ever played professionally before, so it shouldn’t be hard to fathom that it happens to players of that calibre.
Unfortunately, there’s the odd occasion when this kind of temper leads to an incident that you really don’t want hitting the headlines. As reported by ESPN, that’s exactly what happened to New York Red Bulls star Kaku aka Alejandro Romero Gamarra this past weekend.
Dealing with the consequences
The 24 year old, who is considered to be one of the brightest young midfielders in Major League Soccer today, hit a ball very powerfully from close range into a section of seats with just moments remaining in his side’s draw against Sporting Kansas City. One fan required medical attention due to the incident, although supposedly, Kaku was aiming for the advertising board.
Some fans have been quick to compare the situation with Eric Cantona’s now infamous kick on a Crystal Palace fan many years ago, but in truth, that doesn’t really feel fair. Kaku clearly feels some level of remorse in the immediate aftermath of this occurring, and there’s a certain ‘benefit of the doubt’ that should be afforded here.
Still, with that being said, this isn’t a great look for a player who is supposedly going to carry the torch forward for NY long into the future. The supporters of this beautiful game all around the world expect a certain level of professionalism from their teams, and so they should. We aren’t saying that they have to be saints 100% of the time, but they do need to recognise that they’re in a very privileged position.
Kaku has had one of the best years of his career since making the move over to the United States from Huracan, having firmly established himself as a force to be reckoned with. His form has also helped him out tremendously on the international stage, too, after he made his debut for the Paraguay national team in 2018.
Mending fences
As reported by popular Irish media company JOE, he also issued an apology on social media, which tends to be the best way for athletes to interact with their fans and the media these days.
“I want to take the time and apologize for my actions during tonight’s match. As a competitor, I was frustrated with myself and took out my frustrations in a way that is not acceptable. I love this game and would never want to disrespect it.”
This could’ve quite easily been a much more serious situation that it actually turned out to be, but even so, Kaku needs to consider himself a lucky man today. He has the potential to go on and do some great things in this game, but there are now no excuses for any kind of repeat when it comes to bad behaviour.
The best thing for both himself and the club at this stage is to move on, and look ahead to their next game against New England next weekend.
