U.S. national team forward Jozy Altidore has issued a public apology for his red card against Switzerland on Tuesday.

Jozy Altidore has issued a public apology for his red card against Switzerland on Tuesday.

• WATCH: Altidore issued red card for swearing at referee

The U.S. national team forward was issued his marching orders in the 68th minute. Initially called for a hard foul from behind on a Swiss defender, Altidore made things worse than they had to be as referee Luca Banti approached while pulling out a yellow card. With the yellow still in Banti's hand, Altidore repeatedly used curse words in the direction of the referee.

USA improves, but indiscipline, late concession lead to Switzerland draw

Banti had seen enough, pocketing his yellow card and instead issuing Altidore a straight red.

"I want to apologize to our fans and my teammates," Altidore said in a statement released by U.S. Soccer. "Emotion get the best of me and I put our team in a tough position. That's not the type of role model I want to be."

The U.S., which was leading 1-0 at the time, surrendered the equalizing goal 12 minutes later and finished with a 1-1 draw.