A blowout victory between the New York Red Bulls II and the Pittsburgh Riverhounds of the United Soccer League took a turn for the worst with five minutes left in the match.

The referee was in the middle of handing out a red card to Red Bulls II defender Karl Ouimette who, despite his anger, seemed to accept his punishment and walked away from the referee and Riverhounds forward Romeo Parkes.

But as Ouimette walked away, Parkes blindsided his opponent with a kick, knocking him down.

The Red Bulls' teammates and the officials quickly rushed to defend the fallen Ouimette in order to avoid escalating the situation.

That has no place in soccer. This cowardly act has no place anywhere.