Chicago Fire Notebook: Dje D'Avilla Red Card Rescinded, Gregg Berhalter, Tom Barlow, and More

The Chicago Fire received some good news on Thursday ahead of their trip to Florida to take on Orlando City SC.

The Fire filed a successful appeal of Dje D’Avilla’s red card from Chicago’s loss to NYCFC last weekend, and he will not miss the Fire’s match this weekend against Orlando City.

The Fire’s midfielder, who they acquired on a permanent deal earlier this year, was sent off after receiving his second yellow card in the 84th minute against NYCFC over the weekend, but D’Avilla will not miss additional time after the Fire submitted a successful appeal to the Independent Review Panel.

From the release:

“The Independent Review Panel, consisting of one representative from U.S. Soccer, one representative from Canada Soccer and one independent representative nominated by the Professional Referee Organization, has unanimously voted to rescind the one-game suspension and accompanying fine for the second yellow card issued to Chicago Fire FC midfielder Dje D’Avilla in the 84th minute of Chicago’s match against New York City FC on May 25. ”

Each MLS club gets two unsuccessful appeals per season, and the Fire still have both of their appeals available in 2025 after this outcome.

Fire director of football and head coach Gregg Berhalter spoke about the decision after training on Thursday.

“It was an issue of him getting caught up in the moment a little bit, maybe being in a small field and him just making some needless fouls where he can be smarter in those situations, and we've talked to him about that,” Berhalter said during his weekly media availability. “We've watched some video. Unfortunately, on the play that it got called the penalty and the red card, it wasn't -- it happened not to be a foul and not a penalty.

“So, unfortunately for us, because we were good in a good moment in the game at that point, and it took the momentum out and gave the opponent the victory. It's unfortunate, but it's something that happens.”

D’Avilla has appeared in eight matches in all competitions for the Fire, though his two starts have been in the U.S. Open Cup. Despite that, he is a potential starting option for the Fire this weekend in Orlando.

From the rest of my notebook

Tom Barlow

The Fire’s result in NYCFC was anything but a positive for the club after a largely successful run of games in the lead-up to that contest. Fire forward Tom Barlow said that the team is incredibly motivated after their match at Yankee Stadium.

“That was an unfortunate result after a long week,” Barlow told reporters. “We wanted to close out the week on a high note. The important thing is to put it behind us, and we move on. We focus on the next game, and that’s Orlando this weekend.

“It's been a hard training week. Everyone seems to be dialed in. We have a good game plan, and it's just about going down there and executing and putting on a good performance, and we think if we do that, we'll be successful.”

Chris Brady

The Fire’s Homegrown goalkeeper was announced as an injury replacement for Patrick Schulte and will be with the USMNT during their upcoming window. It’s the first senior USMNT call-up for Brady, 21, and he will miss the Fire’s match against D.C. United on June 7. Regardless of his upcoming absence, the Fire’s coach was happy for his starting goalkeeper’s national team opportunity.

“It's great news for the club and great news personally for Chris,” Berhalter said.” Every person aspires to take part in their national team, and this will be his first opportunity, and it's a great moment for him. He's a great young goalkeeper. I think there's an opportunity in that position in the player pool. And hopefully he'll make his mark on the team.”

Brian Gutiérrez

Gutiérrez put his side in a tough spot against NYCFC when he was sent off in the first half after elbowing Aiden O’Neill in the face. Gregg Berhalter noted during media availability that Gutiérrez apologized to the team this week for that act.

Gutiérrez remains the subject of transfer rumors and Europe is his preferred destination, according to a report from GiveMeSport’s Tom Bogert. No discussions have gone past the preliminary stages but clubs in Spain, Italy and Germany are interested in Gutiérrez’s this summer, per Bogert.

Mauricio Pineda

Pineda, who left last weekend’s match in the first half with an injury, was back in training on Thursday but only participated in warmups. His status for the match in Orlando remains up in the air.

Sam Rogers

Rogers left Thursday’s training session during the warmup period, and Berhalter told reporters that it was due to back spasms. The Fire coach doesn’t see it as a long-term issue, but it’s something to keep an eye on in Orlando.