SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- The California Clasico between the LA Galaxy and San Jose Earthquakes is always a chippy affair, but according many in the LA Galaxy locker room, it was no excuse for some of the physical play that took place in Sunday's 2-2 draw between the clubs at Buck Shaw Stadium.
One of those who was not impressed by the nature of the match was LA Galaxy defender Omar Gonzalez. The Galaxy defender was exceptional for much of the match, but was whistled for a highly-questionable foul by referee Jair Marrufo in the 59th minute, a minute later, Earthquakes winger Marvin Chavez would score off a free kick, leveling the score at 1-1.
Gonzalez gives his thoughts below..
(On the physical nature of the game…)
GONZALEZ: “To be honest, this game wasn't fun, I think those guys are a bunch of jokes, the way that they play the game is just obnoxious and it wasn't even fun out there…It all starts when the ball is on the other side of the field and you’re just running all of a sudden, you get blindsided, you just get checked by Lenhart, it’s just dumb sh** like that, that happens every time. That’s not the way the game should be played, it’s embarrassing and I don't know what else to say.”
(On what LA can take away from tonight…)
GONZALEZ: “We fought hard. We got ahead two times, and we let them come back both times. There was a foul that shouldn't have been called, but it was, and the ball skinned my head on the free kick, and maybe I should have been a little taller and my head would have gotten on it, but other than that, we fought as hard as we could.”
(On the role of officiating…)
GONZALEZ: “I just think that everyone on the field should be aware of what the game is like from the beginning. The players sure knew what was going to happen, but every time that we looked at the referees, they said that they didn’t know anything, they turned a blind eye and said that ‘you’re doing the same thing,’ but it’s really not. I think the league should do a better job of protecting the players, there’s times when I’m going up for the ball and I got one guy that I’m handling and I get hit from the side from another guy. It’s just a lot of injuries can happen that way; I just think that the players need to protected, as well as worrying about the referee’s pride. There’s too many times when players and coaches say things, but the referee goes unscathed and nothing happens to them.”
(On potentially facing the Earthquakes in the Conference Semifinals…)
GONZALEZ: “I don’t mind playing them again. I think that we play well against them, it’s going to be another big game and I look forward to it.”
