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The United States Soccer Federation has announced it has filed an official protest against the cards given to midfielder Jermaine Jones and forward Bobby Wood in the U.S.' 2-1 defeat of Ecuador in the Copa America Centenario quarterfinals on Thursday. Jones and Wood will not be able to participate in the United States' semifinal match against either Argentina or Venezuela as a result of the cards against the Ecuadorians. Jones was shown a straight red card for a 52nd-minute confrontation that also saw Ecuador captain Antonio Valencia given a second yellow card for kicking out at Alejando Bedoya along the sideline. Wood received his second yellow of the competition a minute later. Bedoya also was shown his second caution of the tournament in the 73rd minute though the U.S. did not appeal his ban. U.S. Soccer press officer Michael Kammarman said of the appeal: "Our argument on Jones is that it's a misinterpretation of Law 12, which was amended June 1 and states that contact to the face or head shall not warrant a red card if the force was 'negligible.'" U.S. boss Jurgen Klinsmann called Jones' dismissal a "joke" after the match. "Unfortunately we lost Jermaine for that incident which is an absolute joke, because I was right there and the fourth official made that decision, not the referee," Klinsmann said. "The referee didn't see it. He followed the advice of the fourth official out there and it's a disgrace, a decision like that. "Obviously we're going to miss Ale and we're going to miss Bobby for the semifinal. Not easy, but I think it's a team that has so much desire to grind it out."
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