'That wasn't a soccer game.' FC Cincinnati sounds off on referees after 1-1 tie with New York Red Bulls

After FC Cincinnati's 1-1 draw with New York Red Bulls, Luciano Acosta was already facing the likelihood of league-administered punishment for the red card he was issued in the match.

But Acosta, risking the possibility of further punishment, felt it was his duty as Cincinnati's captain to publicly address the club's mounting frustrations with Major League Soccer officiating.

So, in a formal press conference setting and with the aid of an interpreter, Acosta spoke for about seven minutes after the game, and mostly on the subject of refereeing decisions in the Red Bulls match, and other games, that he said continually go against his club.

"I'm angry. I'm angry at the result. I'm angry at the way the game was officiated and it's the same stuff every time," Acosta said via the interpreter. "It feels like it's against us. I did not think Allan's (Cruz) was a red and, for (mine), it was chest-to-chest. I'm just not as big as Aaron Long, but it was a product of frustration, of being hit over and over again during the game and it boiling over in the moment.

"I don't know why it happens that way. That's why I wanted to come out here and show my face and say something... I'm here to defend my team and defend my club."

Acosta said he was confident he was accurately expressing the sentiments of his teammates, too, adding, "As captain, I feel like I'm the voice of the group. I talk to players in the locker room. They feel the same way. Maybe some of them wouldn't come out and say it because they don't want to get fined, don't want to get (suspended) an extra game. As captain, I'm going to defend my club."

FC Cincinnati saw out the draw against the Eastern Conference-leading Red Bulls with 10 men for about 30 minutes. Allan Cruz was assessed his second yellow card for a tackle in front of the New York bench in the 58th minute.

In the closing seconds, Acosta himself was assessed a straight red card after making contact with Red Bulls defender and captain, Aaron Long. That forced Cincinnati to close down the match with nine men.

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All of that was preceded by a penalty kick awarded for a foul by Ray Gaddis, which was checked by the video assistant referee and ultimately upheld.

The penalty kick was the sixth called against Cincinnati this season – the most of any MLS club this season.

After Brandon Vazquez opened the scoring the 21st minute, Lewis Morgan equalized on the penalty kick eight minutes later.

"As you could tell, there were a couple calls," Gaddis said. "Obviously, the ref made a call on me. I wouldn't agree with the call on how it went. That's my take on it."

With a season-best TQL Stadium crowd of 24,476 already providing a powder-keg atmosphere, the ensuing goal celebration by the Red Bulls produced a fracas in which Cruz received his first yellow card caution.

New York's John Tolkin was also assessed a yellow card.

The 1-1 draw was good enough to see FC Cincinnati move to 7-7-5 in 2022, and 1-0-4 since the June international break ended.

All the games post-international break have been against Eastern Conference heavy-hitters, and the point against the Red Bulls was another good outcome on a night when "RBNY" seemed more interested in injecting physicality into the proceedings.

But the draw still wasn't much consolation for an FC Cincinnati organization that's hopeful the post-match comments of Acosta and head coach Pat Noonan alter the way their games are officiated for the forthcoming 16 matches.

Noonan also addressed the officiating following his five-word opening statement: "Good point, terrible soccer game."

Asked if he had a problem with the performance of the game's officiating crew, Noonan smiled and asked rhetorically, "You setting me up? Does that answer it?"

"There were things that we didn't particularly handle well," Noonan continued in response to the question. "There were a lot of little things that I thought didn't go our way where it didn't feel like it was very balanced. I think the physicality (of New York) wasn't an issue at all. I thought our guys did an excellent job dealing with the direct play, winning the aerial duels, for the most part being solid with knock-downs.

"I feel bad for everybody who has to watch that. That's – it's so bad. And so, for the fans, people at home having to sit through that, it's unfortunate. That wasn't a soccer game."

The comments from Acosta and Noonan also seemed to be framed within the context of the club's June 29 4-4 draw against New York City FC.

After that match, Noonan called out an assistant referee for a lack of professionalism during a post-match exchange.

"I don't have a good answer for it right now. I don't think it's just us," Noonan said. "I watch games. We're not alone. It's something that we're hoping improves. You know, just like we want to improve the quality of the play on the field. If our league's going to continue to grow, it has to grow in all areas."

What did serve as consolation for Noonan on the night was how FC Cincinnati closed out the Red Bulls game without Cruz, and later Acosta.

After Cruz was sent off, Cincinnati bunkered in, occasionally charging forward on the counter  to scrape together a couple chances over the final 30-plus minutes.

"Excellent. We didn't give up dangerous looks," Noonan said. "They didn't change what they were doing. They were looking for balls in behind and we dealt with that pretty well. You're not gonna win every knock-down. You're not gonna have every clearance go perfect. Those are the moments where you just have to make sure defensively you're ready to deal with the runs in behind, the balls in behind."

FC Cincinnati goalkeeper Roman Celentano finished the match with two saves.

FC Cincinnati remains above the playoff cutline on 26 points. The club sits in sixth place, and could see the recently-acquired Sergio Santos debut midweek.

Vancouver Whitecaps visit TQL Stadium Wednesday (8 p.m.) and FC Cincinnati and Columbus Crew will reconvene the "Hell is Real" derby Sunday in Columbus.

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Welcome to Cincinnati.com's live coverage of the Major League Soccer Eastern Conference matchup between fifth-place FC Cincinnati and first-place New York Red Bulls at TQL Stadium (7:30 p.m.). Refresh this page throughout the match for live updates and analysis, and follow Enquirer FC Cincinnati reporters Pat Brennan (@PBrennanENQ) and Sara Tidwell (@saramtidwell) on Twitter for further updates. 

In-game updates:

• Final: FC Cincinnati 1, New York Red Bulls 1.

• 90th minute – Red card, FC Cincinnati: Luciano Acosta. 

• 58th minute – Red card, FC Cincinnati: Allan Cruz (second yellow). 

• Halftime: FC Cincinnati 1, New York Red Bulls 1. 

• 29th minute – GOAL, New York Red Bulls (1-1): Lewis Morgan converted a penalty kick after Cincinnati's Ray Gaddis was deemed to have committed a foul in FCC's penalty area.

• 21st minute – GOAL, FC Cincinnati (1-0): Brandon Vazquez followed up on a rebound and made two quick touches from a close but wide angle for a tap-in. The goal was his ninth of 2022, giving him the most in a single season for an FC Cincinnati player since the club joined MLS.

• Match underway at about 7:38 p.m.

Pre-match updates:

• FC Cincinnati starting XI: Roman Celentano (GK), Alvaro Barreal, Tyler Blackett, Geoff Cameron, Nick Hagglund, Ray Gaddis, Obinna Nwobodo, Allan Cruz, Luciano Acosta (captain), Brandon Vazquez, Brenner Souza da Silva.

• FC Cincinnati bench: Zico Bailey, Yuya Kubo, Nick Markanich, Haris Medunjanin, Ian Murphy, Quimi Ordonez, Harrison Robledo, Kenneth Vermeer (GK). 

• New York Red Bull starting XI: Carlos Coronel (GK), Frankie Amaya, Tom Edwards, Cameron Harper, Patryk Klimala, Aaron Long, Luqinhas, Lewis Morgan, Dylan Nealis, John Tolkin. 

• Red Bulls bench: Tom Barlos, Caden Clark, Daniel Edelman, Omir Fernandez, Ryan Meara, Serge Ngoma, Andres Reyes, Dru Yearwood, Steven Sserwadda

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 'That wasn't a soccer game.' FC Cincinnati sounds off on referees