SEATTLE – Clint Dempsey declined to weigh in directly on Major League Soccer’s simmering controversy of severe tackles and player safety on Thursday, but the Seattle Sounders forward indicated MLS isn’t much different from the English Premier League in terms of physicality and rough play.
The topic has emerged as one of the loudest talking points through the first five weeks of the new MLS season, punctuated on Sunday night when Portland Timbers playmaker Darlington Nagbe was injured on a tackle by LA Galaxy midfielder Nigel de Jong. The MLS Disciplinary Committee has yet to weigh in on any punishment for de Jong after Nagbe was diagnosed with a severely sprained ankle, but some Sounders players past and present were quick to share their opinions on social media after the incident occurred.
Dempsey, however, steered clear of the controversy on de Jong on Thursday.
“I’ll stay away from all that, man,” Dempsey said with a smile. “I’ll let y’all talk about that and talk to the people that deal with those situations.”
Dempsey did not appear in the 2010 friendly between the U.S. national team and the Netherlands – the same game when a de Jong tackle broke the leg of former USMNT midfielder Stuart Holden – but the two overlapped in the English Premier League from 2009-12 while Dempsey played with Fulham and de Jong with Manchester City.
Dempsey said that MLS is no more physical than the Premier League, and that how the game is officiated determines the safety for players and the league’s reputation.
“Both leagues are very physical,” Dempsey said. “It’s just how you manage the game as a ref. If there are reckless tackles going in early, you set the tone with cards to protect players. I don’t think it’s any different in Europe than what they’re trying to do here. There’s a balance there, but that’s not my job.”
