MLS bans Real Salt Lake’s Cristian Arango for four games

Real Salt Lake star striker Cristian “Chicho” Arango was suspended for four games on Monday for violating MLS’s anti-harassment policy.

Neither MLS nor Real Salt Lake disclosed what led to the disciplinary action.

“The club has fully cooperated with Major League Soccer’s investigation and accepts the disciplinary decision,” Real Salt Lake said in a statement.

Arango is the MLS’s leading player in goals with 17, tying the RSL single-season record set by Alvaro Saborio in 2012. He will miss the regular season away games against Los Angeles FC on Wednesday and Colorado Rapids on Saturday, the MLS All-Star Game on July 24 and the RSL’s Leagues Cup home game against Atlas on August 1.

Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi is also uncertain about his participation in the MLS All-Star Game at Lower.com Field in Columbus, Ohio, after sustaining an injury in Argentina’s victory over Colombia in the Copa América final on Sunday.

Arango, 29, is also his club’s second-leading player with 11 assists this season, his second with Salt Lake. He played for LAFC in 2021 and 2022, scoring 14 and 16 goals, respectively.

In total, the Colombian scored 53 goals and provided 20 assists in 85 games (73 from the start) in his four MLS seasons.

This report uses information from Reuters.