29-05-2025
NWSL suspends Racing Louisville's Kayla Fischer two additional matches for pulling player's hair
The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) announced Thursday that it is escalating its disciplinary decision on Racing Louisville forward Kayla Fischer, who received a straight red card and one-game suspension during a match against Angel City FC that ended in a 3-3 draw on May 24 in Los Angeles.
Fischer now faces an additional two-game suspension for 'her actions in an incident that occurred' in the 64th minute of the match, the league's statement reads.
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In the lead up to a Racing corner kick, Fischer grabbed the ponytail of Angel City midfielder Madison Hammond and yanked her by the head toward the ground as the kick was taken.
'After further review of the altercation, the Disciplinary Committee determined that Fischer's conduct violated Section 12.4.10, 'Major Game Misconduct,' of the League Operations Manual,' the league said.
Prior to that incident, Fischer had been shown three yellow cards this season. In addition to Racing's June 6 match against the Utah Royals, for which Fischer was already ineligible due to the initial red card, she will also be unable to play in Racing's next two matches against the Orlando Pride on June 14 and the Kansas City Current on June 20. She will not be able to rejoin the squad in the regular season until after the summer break on Aug. 1, when the team faces the Current again.
The league's judgment comes less than a month after another Racing player, Brazilian forward Ary Borges, also received additional disciplinary action following a tense meeting with the Portland Thorns on April 27, which also ended in a 3-3 draw.
Borges was found to have pushed the center referee after the game and was initially handed a red card for her behavior, but the league increased her suspension from one match to three after further review of the incident.
At 4-2-4, Racing occupies the eighth spot in the NWSL table, narrowly inside playoff contention.
