The MLS Playoffs’ ultimate villain! Matt Miazga’s clashes with former fans and referees hurts FC Cincinnati and his USMNT future
The ex-Chelsea defender is in hot water for two controversies as he’s established himself as an all-time antagonist
All the best stories are defined by their villain, and that theory certainly applies to sports. Fans see their teams as conquering heroes, warriors worth backing through thick-and-thin as they defend their club against anyone who stands in their path. But it’s the villain that makes those stories so special, and the MLS Playoffs found theirs rather quickly in 2023.
This season’s villain is none other than Matt Miazga, who has sent this postseason into chaos by battling the fans that once loved him so much. The FC Cincinnati star was at the center of it all during the club’s first-round playoff clash with his former club, the New York Red Bulls. Miazga was criticized, booed and blasted for what many saw as a series of insults toward his former club that saw him blow fans kisses all the way to a suspension. And now, even with all of that going on, he finds himself in hot water for reportedly storming into the referee’s locker room after the fact.
It’s early on in the playoffs, and we all know that MLS chaos never ends, but it’s hard to imagine someone taking Miazga’s title from him in the coming weeks. He’s always been a player that has walked the disciplinary tightrope, endearing himself to many as a result. However, this time around, he’s emerged as the league’s big bad guy, which will have a lasting impact not just on his team’s MLS Cup hopes, but also his own international future.
Miazga vs Red Bulls
Up until this MLS postseason, Miazga was certainly regarded as a Red Bull success story. A homegrown kid that went from New Jersey to Chelsea, Miazga was an example of the club’s investment into youth and what those players can become. He first arrived at the club as a child, and now all these years later, he was back at Red Bull Arena as a visitor in a playoff setting.
In his head, Miazga believed that the crowd in New Jersey would see him as that local kid, the one that was a key part of a Supporters’ Shield triumph. He still had love for his hometown fans and he believed they’d feel the same way about him.
So, after scoring in a penalty shootout that, ultimately, led to the Red Bulls’ playoff demise, Miazga marched towards the South Ward, the Red Bulls fan section. He made a heart with his hands and blew the supporters kisses in what he says was a gesture of admiration.
The Red Bull fans didn’t see it that way. Instead, they saw an opposing player trolling them on their way out. They saw Miazga rubbing his role in their playoff exit in their faces. They saw a player that they once loved kicking them when they were down, and it made them mad.
As the boos rained down, Miazga continued. He blew more kisses towards the supporters. That was until referee Victor Rivas finally stepped in, giving Miazga a yellow card as Cincy went on to win 8-7 in the shootout after a 1-1 draw through 90 minutes.
Miazga had earned a caution earlier in the game, but, per the rules, wasn’t sent off for the second yellow in a shootout. However, having earned a yellow in the opener, Miazga had now passed the three-card threshold, netting him a suspension for FC Cincinnati’s next match.
The defender’s stunt, earnest or not, had cost him and his team. Only Miazga can truly confirm why he interacted with Red Bull fans in the way he did, and everyone would probably say it was a gesture better saved for a cooler moment when his intentions couldn’t be doubted. His reputation seemed to precede him as the fans weren’t willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
Regardless, whatever his intentions were, Miazga hurt his team in a big way.
‘I wanted to show them love!’
After the match, Miazga was desperate to explain himself and was quick to express his frustration with the referee for misinterpreting his intentions.
“I’m annoyed,” he told the Cincinnati Enquirer. “The referee gave me a yellow card. For what? I went to my fans that I played for since I was 14 years old and gave them a heart. I gave them a heart and I was showing them my love. I get a yellow card for that? For what?… And I have to take (that) and I’m suspended now… And after the game he gives me a yellow card because I asked ‘what the hell are you doing?’ Everyone’s yelling at the referee. Of course. I feel singled-out. I was speaking to [Rivas] the whole game normally. He’s talking to me nicely all game.”
Neither Rivas nor the Red Bulls fans believes Miazga’s version of events. He was given that yellow card for inciting the crowd and, well-intentioned or not, that’s exactly what Miazga did. After the match, social media was filled with vitriol for Miazga, as Red Bull fans took aim at a player that many believe was mocking them at a place he once called home.
Regardless, there were no winners from Miazga’s display. The Red Bulls were knocked out, of course, as their season came to an end. The player was handed a one-game suspension, ruling him out for the club’s next game against either the Philadelphia Union or New England Revolution, and with the playoffs now switching to a single-elimination format, Cincy will now be without both Miazga and fellow starting centerback Nick Hagglund, who is out with a hamstring injury. The suspension, then, could very well derail Cincy’s hopes of reaching an MLS Cup, and head coach Pat Noonan was all the more frustrated because it was 100 percent avoidable.
“Matt’s suspended for the next game and that shouldn’t happen,” Noonan said after the game. “Matt knows better, we shouldn’t be missing him for the next round, as simple as that.”
However, that was just the beginning, as the whole situation went from bad to worse on Tuesday. As it turns out, that one-game suspension may only be the start of the punishments heading Miazga’s way.
Miazga vs referees
On Tuesday, the Pro Soccer Referees Association took to social media to reveal that, following Cincinnati’s win over the Red Bulls, a player attempted to gain entry into the referee’s locker room.
“After the Nov 4th NYRB/FC Cincinnati match, a player gained unauthorized entry into the officials’ locker room & was forcibly removed by stadium security while acting in an aggressive & hostile manner,” the statement read. “No one’s safety should ever be at risk & we expect MLS to act accordingly.
“This is an unacceptable and, as we recall, unprecedented violation of league policy and sporting integrity. We have urged MLS to take appropriate disciplinary action against the player and to remind all league participants that violations like this will not be tolerated.”
Shortly after, the Philadelphia Inquirer confirmed what many had expected: the player in question was Miazga. A further report from The Athletic, though, raised questions about the events. According to the report, the PSRA’s version of events was vastly overblown. The report says Miazga wasn’t removed by security, but rather a Cincy staffer, adding that the defender was attempting to speak with Rivas about the yellow card he’d received at the end of the game. The report cited a source saying that “the entire thing has been blown out of proportion”.
Regardless, MLS is currently investigation the situation, and should the PSRA’s version of events be confirmed, Miazga could very well be hit with a hefty suspension for attempting to confront a referee.
“Major League Soccer is aware of the report of a player gaining unauthorized access into the officials’ locker room following the New York Red Bulls vs. FC Cincinnati match at Red Bull Arena on November 4, 2023,” read a statement MLS supplied to reporters. “The safety of PRO officials but never be compromised and an investigation into this matter is being conducted.”
A history of incidents
It feels so long ago, but it was Miazga’s willingness to be the bad guy that first endeared him to the American soccer public. In one of his initial matches on the international level, Miazga provided the most famous moment of his career. Taking on Mexico, Miazga was quick to make his mark on North America’s hottest rivalry, branding himself as an antagonist worthy of the occasion.
In that 2018 match, Miazga found himself battling with Mexican starlet Diego Lainez, then the prized prospect in El Tri’s system. The two ended up chest-to-chest during a confrontation, with Miazga pointing to the difference in height between the two. The 6’4 Miazga was quick to mock the 5’6 frame of Lainez, signalling that the Mexican star was too small to do anything to him.
On the American side, Miazga’s jibe was seen as hilarious, a masterful troll job of a heated rival. On the Mexican side? Miazga was seen as a bully, a villain that had taken things just a bit too far.
“It was just a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing. For me it’s like, whatever happens on the field stays on the field. In the moment, there was a bit of trash talk. That kind of situation occurred and it was what it was,” Miazga told MLSSoccer.com. “Obviously it did bring a lot of media attention, just because I think USA-Mexico is a big rivalry… You have respect for people no matter what, off the pitch as well, because he’s obviously a good player. I think I played against him a few times afterwards as well, and we shook hands and embraced.”
After several up-and-down years during which he was in and out of the USMNT picture, Miazga was at the center of another incident this summer, one which didn’t leave fanbases split in the slightest.
At the Gold Cup, the USMNT found themselves in a shootout with Panama in the semifinals after a notably tight affair. After burying his penalty kick, Miazga marched back toward his team-mates, but stopped on his way there to confront Panama’s Cecilio Waterman. The American defender got right into the Panamanian veteran’s face in an attempt to throw him off his game.
Right away, Miazga was criticized for being unsportsmanlike, and it didn’t take long for the soccer gods to punish him. Panama went on to win the shootout, knocking Miazga and the USMNT out in the process.
The incident showed that, several years on, Miazga still has no problem with being the instigator, as the defender continues to have a reputation as something of a menace on the field.
‘The Jersey in me!’
Miazga, of course, is aware of that reputation. It’s one that’s followed him for the bulk of his career. It’s also one that helped him survive several years in Chelsea’s loan army as he bounced around from league to league and country to country in Europe.
“When I was younger, I would kind of – it’s fine to say I’d go looking for it on the field, just because of, I don’t know, I guess the Jersey in me,” he told MLSSoccer.com “Now, if someone starts with me, then I’ll kind of go back to make sure I let them hear me out a little bit, if that makes sense.
“In England, it happened all the time, every single game, literally every player on the pitch had something to say or shout. Like, that was the English culture in the Championship at the time, and when I was in England with Chelsea for that half a year. That was just normal, you’d just talk smack to get in someone’s head, you know what I mean?… A bunch of grown men playing a professional sport with egos, and you’re trying to get in each other’s heads.”
It’s part of what makes Miazga so good: his willingness to walk on the edge and do whatever it takes to unsettle an opponent. However, while that may be a big strength in his game, it may also be one of the reasons he finds himself struggling to crack the USMNT on the road to 2026.
The USMNT effect
After being left out of the 2022 World Cup, Miazga was hopeful for a fresh beginning with the USMNT. He openly acknowledged his previous disagreements with Gregg Berhalter, expressing his dissatisfaction with the lack of opportunities he felt he deserved. With the ongoing search for a new coach, he was optimistic about starting anew under different management.
Miazga stated last year, “We didn’t see eye to eye on a few things in the past, and that has affected me from being called up. But it is what it is. I’d like to say a few things, but I’ll refrain from that. You guys will eventually find out. I’m always ready to play for the national team. But I don’t make the decisions. There’s one guy that makes the decisions, and that’s how it goes.”
However, things took an unexpected turn when Berhalter was reappointed. This decision seemed like it could put Miazga in an awkward position. Nonetheless, his call-up for the Gold Cup under B.J. Callaghan, Berhalter’s assistant, indicated that he was still under consideration as a player.
Miazga, addressing the situation this summer, remarked, “The past is the past. At the end of the day, nobody really cares about what happened in the past. Things move on. Now I’m excited to be wearing the crest again. Obviously Gregg has the job, so I have to control what I can control and make sure that I can play well. So I’m looking forward to it.”
Despite his enthusiasm, Miazga faces stiff competition at centerback. Players like Tim Ream, Chris Richards, Cameron Carter-Vickers, and Miles Robinson are all vying for starting positions. Additionally, Mark McKenzie, Auston Trusty, and Walker Zimmerman are still in contention. The potential return of John Brooks, who has been absent from the USMNT, further complicates the situation.
Considering recent developments, it’s understandable why Berhalter might hesitate to rely on a player like Miazga. While Miazga possesses significant strengths, his tendency to lose control under pressure could be a liability. In international matches, where the margins are slim, having a central defender who provides calm rather than chaos is crucial.
So where does Miazga stand? At the moment, on the outside looking in, and it’s safe to say his issues in the MLS Playoffs will do little to help his case. He may very well win MLS Defender of the Year, and it would be more than deserved, but Miazga’s stock may just on the downswing as far as the USMNT is concerned.
Looking ahead for Cincinnati
Miazga’s suspension deals a significant blow to FC Cincinnati, depriving them of the league’s top defender and hampering their MLS Cup aspirations. His exceptional performance this season played a crucial role in the club’s achievement of the Supporters’ Shield during the regular season.
The question arises: Can FC Cincinnati secure an MLS Cup victory without him? It will undoubtedly be challenging. The absence of Miazga and Hagglund poses a major setback, especially considering the increasingly tough competition in the playoffs. Miazga will be sidelined at least until the conference semi-finals, and there’s a likelihood of further suspension due to his attempt to confront a referee after the game.
Regardless of the outcome, Miazga has only enhanced his reputation this season. He has proven himself as a top-tier MLS defender, showcasing his skills and contributing significantly to his club’s success. FC Cincinnati’s pursuit of more trophies remains credible.
Moreover, Miazga’s performance in the playoffs has solidified his status as one of the league’s prominent antagonists. He has become a figure that opposing teams love to hate whenever he faces their beloved heroes on the field.
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