The United States' relations with the Middle East appear to be at an all time low (in footballing terms at least) after a mass brawl broke up during a recent match between the US U-19's and their Bahraini counterparts.
With the US trailing by two goals late in the match their Orlando City striker Pierre da Silva was felled by a particularly robust challenge from a Bahraini defender but it was what happened immediately afterwards which instigated the hostilities.
With da Silva lying prone on the ground another Bahrain defender opted to try to smash the ball clear but only resulted in launching it directly into da Silva's face from barely inches away. It is fair to say that da Silva's teammates were not best pleased, with a handful of them chasing the culprit and pushing him to the floor before reinforcements from both sides arrived.
Video of the incident at the end of the USA U19 MNT game against Bahrain. pic.twitter.com/hI9f0VtmUe
— J.R. Eskilson (@JREskilson) August 1, 2016
There wasn't any clear winner in the brawl but in footballing terms the US lost the match and were dumped out of the the COTIF tournament in Spain but this particular game will likely be remembered for distinctly non-footballing actions.
[Washington Post]
