Mansally suspended one match for Kitchen headbutt

Abdoluie Mansally has been handed a single-game suspension for his apparent headbutt on D.C. United's Perry Kitchen, making him the first MLS player suspended for in-season action in 2013.

According to an mlssoccer.com article, Mansally told reporters after a training session that he was "trying to protect himself" after Kitchen purportedly pushed him and hit him in the stomach. Video replays are not entirely clear about the altercation, but Mansally's suspension is deserved.

Mansally's absence likely means Lovel Palmer will be handed a start at left back, especially as Chris Wingert is still recuperating from a broken bone in his foot. Nat Borchers is between one and three weeks away from seeing match time, so the odds of Chris Schuler starting at left back are slim. Palmer was handed his debut as a 66th-minute substitute for Mansally on Saturday.

If Jason Kreis is looking to be particularly interesting in his tactical decisions (though not wise), he could play a lopsided 3-5-2 formation featuring Salcedo alongside Schuler and Watson-Siriboe, with Palmer and Beltran in wide midfield positions. Of course, there's zero chance of that, but it's an interesting thought experiment regardless.

Alvaro Saborio has also been fined an undisclosed amount for "aggravated dissent." Video released by the league features Saborio looking only as angry as usual, but spit fired somewhere in the direction of the referee but certainly not at him (perhaps — the angle of the video proves little) may have sounded his death knell.