MLS Rescinds Diego Luna Red Card Against Toronto FC
Apr 22, 2025, 3:33 PM | Updated: Apr 23, 2025, 9:36 am
Real Salt Lake midfielder Diego Luna (8) takes a shot on the goal during a Major League Soccer game against the Los Angeles Galaxy at America First Field in Sandy on Saturday, June 22, 2024. Luna was selected for the 2025 MLS All-star Game.
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SANDY, Utah- It has been a disappointing start to the campaign for Diego Luna and the 3-0-6 Real Salt Lake, who just took its second loss in a row on Saturday, this time at the hands of Toronto FC, who at the time had no wins.
In the 61st minute of the 1-0 loss, Diego Luna was shown a red card and sent off after getting tangled up and seemingly taken down by Toronto’s Raoul Petretta. Even after going to VAR, the decision was upheld, sparking outrage and controversy among The Riot and members of the Claret-and-Cobalt.
Should this have been a red card against #RSL's Diego Luna?#MLS #DaleReal #TorontoFC #TFCLive @realsaltlake @KSLSports pic.twitter.com/Bkef216tmP
— Sam Farnsworth (@Samsworth_TV) April 20, 2025
The red card was shown after Luna and Petretta both ended up on the ground when the Toronto player appeared to wrap his arm around Diego’s neck and use his weight to pull both of them down. Even still, Luna was the one sent off.
Real Salt Lake would fail to find the equalizer playing a man down, and the game finished in a 1-0 result in favor of Toronto FC. After the match, RSL defenseman Alexandros Katranis was very vocal about his disdain for the call and MLS refereeing in general.
“I’m not here to say that we are losing because of the referee,” said Katranis. “We are going to see our mistakes, because we are not where we want to be, but it’s impossible if we play 11 against 14, 15, I don’t know.”
#RSL's Alex Katranis requested to speak with media after the game. He had just a few things to get off his chest!
"The guy takes a hug to Diego, maybe he wants to kiss him, I don't know. He put him down… their legs get stuck… he gets a red card?"#DaleReal #MLS @KSLSports https://t.co/8vMdD8QokR pic.twitter.com/GAAbRh7ZHA
— Sam Farnsworth (@Samsworth_TV) April 20, 2025
The red card shown to Diego Luna had consequences outside of the fixture against Toronto, as it also meant that he would be suspended for Real Salt Lake’s upcoming match against San Diego FC on April 26.
In the days following the incident, Real Salt Lake appealed the red card with the MLS, who apparently agreed with the team’s claims, and although they can’t go back and put Luna back on the field for the last 29 minutes of the game against Toronto, the league’s decision to rescind the red card at the very least means that the squad will have their young superstar available on Saturday.
In a statement from the MLS, it was stated that an independent review panel unanimously voted in favor of the decision to make Luna eligible against San Diego FC.
Real Salt Lake successfully appealed Diego Luna’s red card and the one game suspension has been rescinded #RSL | @kslsports pic.twitter.com/vt3av1lkoq
— RSL Show on KSL 🎙️⚡️ (@rslshow) April 22, 2025
Real Salt Lake retained its appeal and is still entitled to two unsuccessful appeals for the rest of the season, including the playoffs.
Up Next For Real Salt Lake
Real Salt Lake will head to Southern California to take on the MLS’s newest member, San Diego FC. Kick off is set for 5:30 p.m. MT on Saturday, April 26. Tune in on the MLS Season Pass.
