Following an on-the-field argument with a teammate, and subsequent off-the-field comments, the Kei Kamara era has ended in Columbus, as the Crew SC have traded him to the New England Revolution.
In last weekend's game against the Montreal Impact, forward Kamara and midfielder Federico Higuain argued over who should take a penalty shot awarded to the Crew. Ultimately, Higuain took the shot, and converted easily. The goal put the Crew SC up 4-1. The Crew later surrendered three goals, and the game ended in a 4-4 tie.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lC4va1wvsb0
After the game, Kamara sounded off against Higuain, downplaying his importance on the Columbus Crew SC, and suggested that he did need not Higuain's help to score goals.
"We scored a lot of goals, but there was no team play," Kamara said after the game. "And that completely explains the way me and Federico behaved on the penalty kick.
"A team who stays together will win games. A team that doesn't, not gonna win games. And that's horrible. We are home, we go up that much and to give that many, it's horrible."
Kamara was first suspended for one game by head coach Greg Berhalter for his post-game comments.
"The action of Kei, speaking out against a teammate, is unacceptable. We have zero tolerance for that. Therefore, he won't be playing in the game Saturday: coach's decision," Berhlater said. "And then we try to move forward in the right way. We're a team that keeps things together. We keep things between ourselves, and that's why that decision was made."
It is not yet clear what the terms of the trade are. Kamara had negotiated his contract preseason with the Crew SC, and held out for more than $1 million.