AGGIE SOCCER FIELD-
It was Sacramento Republic FC assistant coach Adam Smith who was reportedly escorted off the pitch after laying hands on a Davis opponent.
Republic FC Head Coach Predrag “Preki” Radosavlijevic said afterwards, his people were defending him.
“Started yelling at me… I don’t even know to be honest,” said Preki. “I try not to speak with the opposition- the coaches and players. I think my staff tried to protect me.”
It was an especially heated moment in a heated game.
There were a fistful of penalty cards already by the 66th minute before a referee pulled a red card on Republic’s James Kiffe for a tackle on Aggie freshman Noah Wilson, and then pulled another yellow card when a Republic player protested the call.
“100% clean tackle,” Preki added. “It was just because it was a really, really strong tackle. I had a perfect view.”
By that time, the UC Davis Police had already been called – as a precaution. And with something like 25 minutes left in the match, Sac Republic Coach Preki decided to call it a day, and he walked his squad off the field in forfeit.
“The game got out of control,” said Preki. “It was time for us to walk off. We cannot afford any injuries at the moment, and it was on the verge of that.”
Reached for comment afterwards, UC Davis Athletics Sports Information Director Mike Robles said the game was just a really competitive match. And while he wouldn’t comment on how the game ended, he said the Aggies would love to play Republic FC again.
