As it so often does, things got heated in a match between the U.S. men's national team and Mexico.
After several scuffles throughout the friendly on Saturday, Oct. 3, Mexico defender Mateo Chávez was shown a straight red card in the 67th minute for a double-hand slap on Sebastian Berhalter.
The sending off saw Mexico's night go from bad to worse, with Julian Hall scoring for the USMNT in the first half and Cavan Sullivan making it 2-0 just five minutes before Chávez's red card.
Chávez first fouled Yunus Musah, coming in late and taking the American's legs out. When he was confronted by Berhalter, the Mexico defender gave a quick two-handed slap on either side of the midfielder's face.
The slap occurred right in front of referee Selvin Brown, who
had no choice but to produce a straight red card.
Things get heated in USMNT-Mexico and El Tri is down to 10 men 🌶️ pic.twitter.com/DBBmdHcXV3
— B/R Football (@brfootball) October 4, 2026
Mexico would concede another goal late in the game, losing 3-0 to its biggest rival in a rough evening in Arizona.
This article will be updated.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mexico's Mateo Chavez shown red card for slapping USMNT's Sebastian Berhalter
