The Michigan Stars will not participate in their upcoming match against the Cal United Strikers this Sunday over “unresolved issues” with NISA the team said in a Twitter posting on Friday.
It’s unclear what the “unresolved issues” with NISA actually are, however, the assumption is it has something to do with what happened at the conclusion of last week’s match against Chattanooga FC which resulted in a brawl and multiple red cards and suspensions being handed out.
This was the statement issued by NISA in the aftermath of the match between the Stars and Chattanooga FC.
“The incident at the end of Saturday’s Chattanooga FC—Michigan Stars FC match can not be tolerated in our sport and will not be tolerated in our league. The Commissioner’s office has reinforced this position with the NISA member clubs.
The NISA Disciplinary Committee –guided by the NISA Operations Manual – assessed the following penalties for the incident after the May 8 match between Chattanooga FC and Michigan Stars FC:
- Chattanooga FC
- Brian Bement (F): red card, 2-game suspension, plus an undisclosed fine for “violence toward a player”
- Markus Naglestad (F): 2-game suspension for unsporting behavior
- Michigan Stars
- Remy Tazifor (Assistant Coach): red card, 4-game suspension, plus an undisclosed fine for “violence toward a player”
- Tatenda Mkuruva (GK): 1-game suspension for unsporting behavior
Both Chattanooga FC and Michigan Stars FC clubs also were levied fines for the incident. All fines will be contributed to the NISA Equity Committee to advance their efforts.”
There’s no word yet on how the League will approach this, if the match will be rescheduled or if this will simply be ruled as a forfeit. We have reached out to the Michigan Stars, NISA, and the Cal United Strikers on further comment and/or clarification but have not heard back.
The Stars won their spring season opener 1-0 over New Amsterdam before falling to Chattanooga FC 2-1. MSFC’s loss against CFC came as a result of a handball in the box during extra time in the second half which ended up sealing the win for Chattanooga.
Currently, the Stars sit in third place in the spring table while the Cal United Strikers occupy seventh based on goal differential.
NISA confirms Michigan Stars forfeit
NISA in a tweet confirms the Michigan Stars decision not to travel to California to take on the Cal United Strikers due to what the Stars say are “unresolved issues” with the League. As a result, MSFC has forfeited the game and the Strikers have been awarded a 3-0 victory and three points in the table.
NISA also stated that any “information regarding member relationships is confidential”.
Cal United also commented via Twitter also confirming the news on the forfeit.
Michigan Stars don’t see “eye-to-eye” with NISA over refs
According to John Frusciante of the First Team Pod, the Michigan Stars’ apparent issues with NISA stem from “unfairness from the referees”. Frusciante goes on to state that if the Stars owner George Juncaj gets a response from the League by 7-8 pm Friday night the team will fly out to California for their match on Sunday against the Cal United Strikers. However, according to Frusciante, if Juncaj doesn’t see “eye-to-eye with NISA management” the Stars owner will file a complaint with the U.S. Soccer Federation.
Oddly enough refs who officiate NISA matches don’t actually work for NISA.
