USL goalkeeper gets red card after throwing second ball onto field

Oakland Roots goalkeeper Raphael Spiegel showed off a novel – and very illegal – way to stop a counterattack on Saturday, March 28, against Orange County SC. With his side down 1-0 in second-half stoppage time of the USL Championship match, Spiegel went all the way up to Orange County's box on an attacking free kick. But Orange County quickly cleared, opening up the potential for the visiting team to seal the game with an empty-net goal.

Rather than sprinting back to prevent a second goal, Spiegel tried a different approach. The goalkeeper quickly grabbed a second ball sitting out of play and threw it as far as he could down the pitch, aiming to break up the attack. The attempt didn't work on all accounts.

Not only did Spiegel not connect with his target, he was shown a red card when the play ended. MULTIBALL in the @USLChampionship - Oakland Roots Goalie (in Blue) up for a last minute header doesn’t connect so he decides to throw another ball on the field to try to stop play and then gets a red card. pic.

twitter. com/QA1Ceyh0jY — Sickos Committee (@SickosCommittee) March 29, 2026 Orange County won the match 1-0. As for Oakland, it will have to find a new goalkeeper for its next match.