'I'LL ALWAYS FIGHT'
Ballon d’Or winner’s son furiously lashes out and PUNCHES opponent in Copa America and issues grovelling apology
His dad played in the Premier League for Chelsea and Man City
TIMOTHY WEAH has made a grovelling apology after he was sent-off in USA’s shock defeat to Panama.
The Americans suffered a 2-1 loss in their second Copa America group match last night.
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However, the main talking point from the match occurred after just 18 minutes when the son of the legendary George Weah saw red.
Juventus winger Weah, 24, received his marching orders following a VAR check on an off-ball incident.
The footage showed him striking Panama’s Roderick Miller in the back of the head, a blow that left the defender floored.
A host of players quickly raced over the scene of the crime as referee Ivan Barton issued Weah with a yellow card.
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However, that was upgraded to a red after he was recommended to view the footage for himself, leaving USA to play the majority of the contest a man down.
Despite that setback, ex-Arsenal forward Folarin Balogun fired them ahead moments later but the lead did not last long.
Cesar Blackman levelled in the 26th minute and then Jose Fajardo pounced on 83 minutes to seal the points for Panama, who also had Adalberto Carrasquilla sent-off in the closing seconds.
Weah, who is now suspended for their likely must-win final group clash with Uruguay, was widely-slammed by fans and pundits alike for losing it, and he issued an apology for his actions on social media shortly after the game.
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He wrote: “Today, I let my team and my country down. A moment of frustration led to an irreversible consequence, and for that, I am deeply sorry to my teammates, coaches, family and our fans.
“Moving forward, I am committed to learning from this experience, not allowing an opponent to provoke me, and working to regain the trust and respect of my team and supporters.
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“No matter what I will always fight for my team and my country till the day I’m no longer needed or capable to! I sincerely apologize to everyone.
“My love for this team goes beyond just football and I’m so sad and angry at myself for putting my brothers through what they went through tonight.”
USA Gregg Berhalter also blasted Weah’s “silly decision” to get physical, saying: “We talked beforehand about the tendencies of this referee, we knew what he's capable of and to be honest I think we played right into his hands.
“And we made that decision I think pretty easy. Tim got bumped, he got checked and he reacted. He apologized to the group and I think he understands what a difficult position he put the group in.
“Nonetheless it happened and as a result we lost this game and we're gonna have to move on and figure out how to win next game.”
Tim’s dad George is the only African winner of the Ballon d'Or after he was crowned the best player of the year in 1995 following a stunning season with both Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan.
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Weah had fired PSG to a Ligue 1 title and two domestic cups before sealing a move to Italy, where he would go on to lift two Serie A trophies.
The Liberian was a trailblazer for African football in Europe and is widely regarded as one of the greatest players the continent has ever produced.
After spells at Chelsea and Manchester City, Weah retired and forged a career in politics.
The 57-year-old was elected as president of Liberia in 2018, becoming the first ever professional footballer to be sworn into office and lead his country.
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Tim was also focusing on following in his father's footsteps - as a player rather than a politician - when he joined PSG as a youngster before earning a switch to Lille.
Weah represents the United States' national team rather than Liberia, who his dad scored 18 in 75 caps for, as he grew up in New York, saying the decision to choose the US was “very simple”.
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