Juan Agudelo and Bobby Boswell at odds over off-the-ball incident in playoff clash

Juan Agudelo called it a “cheap shot.” Bobby Boswell said it was “just one of those plays.”

These are the facts: In the 69th minute of Wednesday’s Audi 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs opener between D.C. United and the New England Revolution, Boswell was shown a yellow card for unsporting behavior after contact that left Agudelo writhing on the RFK Stadium pitch. The Revs forward was unable to continue, subbed out of the match one minute later.

What exactly happened on the play remains a point of contention between the two players, one that couldn’t be clarified via replay because the play occurred off camera. 

Agudelo, for his part, felt sure about the intent, and made his feelings known postgame.

“I’m not the kind of guy that goes to the media and goes off, but I’ve never been disrespected in a game like that before,” Agudelo told reporters. “What hurts the most is it took me out of the game, and [Boswell] didn’t even get a red card for it.

“If it’s a foul it’s either a red card or nothing. I don’t know how he could do an in-the-middle foul like a yellow card off the ball. Straight knee. It just reminds me of the play in the Champions League when John Terry hit Pedro and he was sent off. It’s B.S.”

“I don’t know why he would just do that, it’s disrespectful,” Agudelo continued. “I’m limping right now, he put his knee right in my hamstring and took me out of the game. I was limping when I was coming off – I wasn’t faking it. It was off the ball. I didn’t even expect it. I felt like I got shot. Cheap shot.”

After D.C.’s dramatic 2-1 victory that sent them to the Eastern Conference Semifinals, Boswell described the incident differently, casting the clash as part of an continuous contest between the forward and the defender.

“We were just battling – kind of off-the-ball stuff, hitting each other,” Boswell said. “I got him with a knee. Those things happen."

"I’ll talk to him after the game," Boswell continued. "He knows I was battling – I’ll apologize to him, I was never trying to hurt him, just trying to get position and, you know, it was just one of those plays.”

Additional reporting by Pablo Maurer