A short while after many his fellow Americans took a knee during the national anthem at Wembley Stadium, DeAndre Yedlin showed solidarity by taking a knee in the middle of Newcastle’s match against Brighton & Hove Albion south of London on Sunday.
Tomer Hemed took exception and stamped on the back of the American’s leg.
האם @tomerhemed10 יעמוד לועדת המשמעת של ה-FA ויורחק ל-3 משחקים עקב הדריכה על ידלין?
במידה וכן הוא יחמיץ את הנסיעה ל'לונדון' ומפגש עם ווסטהאם pic.twitter.com/jPmHSxwXx8— IsraeliHammer (@AmitDim) September 24, 2017
Hemed, who was born in Israel, must be a Donald Trump supporter after the U.S. president criticized NFL players who disrespect the U.S. flag by fighting for equality. As soon as Yedlin fell to his knees Hemed looked down, lined up his stamp and slammed his cleats into the back of Yedlin's knee.
Hemed scored the only goal of the match in a 1-0 win for the Seagulls and he managed to avoid being sent off by a referee who was nowhere in sight, apparently unable to see the incident. One assumes he’ll be retroactively punished. Newcastle United fans certainly hope so after seeing Jonjo Shelvey suspended for a more boneheaded but less violent stamp on Dele Alli.
But there may yet be another side to the story. Hemed may have been following the wishes of a young fan. Before the match, this tiny Brighton & Hove Albion fan showed what he wanted to see from his heroes on the pitch and Hemed merely complied.
Savage from this kid pic.twitter.com/32wXpHW8Ll
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) September 24, 2017
Poor Josh. Poor DeAndre. Poor America.