September 16 – Unusually for the United States, a second-tier game between Phoenix Rising and LA Galaxy II had to be abandoned at the weekend after objects were thrown on the pitch.
Conflicting reports claimed, variously, that Galaxy keeper Eric Lopez was hit by a beer can after hosts Phoenix Rising scored to go 4-1 up in the 77th minute – and that Galaxy II forward Augustine Williams was also struck.
An official Rising statement described the incident as follows: “A non-Phoenix Rising supporter allowed his frustrations to get the better of him when he threw an object on to the field.”
“In the interest of player safety, the referees decided to suspend the match and asked both teams to walk off the pitch.
“As the two clubs were walking back to the locker room, a Rising fan retaliated by throwing an object on to the field and hitting a LA Galaxy II player in the lower back. After a review of the situation, the referees abandoned the match.”
It added that two fans had been identified and been banned from the stadium.
Rising were minutes away from winning their 20th USL Championship game in a row in front of a sellout crowd when the match was abandoned.
The Rising statement said that the result had been ruled a 4-1 win in its favour, citing USL rules that “a team that has a three or more goal lead after 70 minutes of play is determined the winner, should the match be suspended for any reason.”
The league released a similar statement explaining the situation but for some reason stopped short of imposing any disciplinary action against the home side.
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