Cucho Hernandez addresses ejection during Crew draw vs. NYCFC

After being ejected from Saturday’s 1-1 draw against New York City FC, Columbus Crew star striker Cucho Hernandez made it clear Sunday he wants to move forward.

“I have no words to summarize what happened yesterday,” Hernandez tweeted. “I’m sorry to have left the team with one less player. Let’s move on.”

In the 69th minute Saturday, Hernandez drew his second yellow card after inadvertently striking Maxime Chanot in the face when attempting a bicycle kick from inside the box.

Crew coach Wilfried Nancy said the referee told him Hernandez had been reckless with the kick, an answer the coach was not satisfied by.

“For me, honestly, he wants to play the ball,” Nancy said. “He is not able to see the guy.”

In 16 games this season, Hernandez had five goals and 10 assists on 80 shots.

Jul 8, 2023; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Columbus Crew forward Cucho Hernandez (9) kicks the ball into the face of New York City FC defender Maxime Chanot (4) resulting in his second yellow card of the game during the second half of the MLS soccer match at Lower.com Field. The Crew tied 1-1.

Nancy was later ejected after drawing a red card near the end of regulation, coming onto the field to protest a referee’s non-call of a potential foul. It was his first ejection.

“Usually, I am composed and calm,” he said. “Yes, I have emotions like everybody, but I’m able to control that. But on that one, it was difficult. … It was not possible for me to control that.”

After the Crew’s latest draw, Nancy said he had “no words” for the referee’s performance and miscommunication.

“I prefer to talk about my team,” Nancy. “I prefer to talk about that because, for me, this is most important. I trust the league. I know that the league is going to watch the game, review the game, and they are going to see what happened.”