Racing Louisville FC's Kayla Fischer saw two games added to her original one-match red card suspension on Thursday, after NWSL match officials sent the midfielder off for unsportsmanlike conduct in Saturday's 3-2 win over Angel City.
Fischer — the No. 16 overall pick in the 2023 NWSL Draft — earned a straight red in the match's 67th minute, with a referee spotting her pulling Angel City midfielder Madison Hammond’s hair and forcing her to the ground.
"After further review of the altercation, the Disciplinary Committee determined that Fischer's conduct violated Section 12.4.10, 'Major Game Misconduct,' of the League Operations Manual," the NWSL said in a release.
Fischer, who has contributed two goals and two assists to Racing's 12-goal season tally, will miss Louisville's upcoming June matches against the No. 13 Utah Royals, No. 3 Orlando Pride, and No. 1 Kansas City Current.
Due to the NWSL's midsummer break, Fischer will not be back in regular-season play until her squad's August 1st rematch against the league-leading Current, leaving No. 8 Louisville competing to remain above the playoff line with her.
Following the additional NWSL suspension announcement, Fischer apologized to both Hammond and Angel City in a statement to ESPN on Thursday, adding "I sincerely regret my behavior and letting my teammates down. I accept and understand the league's decision."
"When I return to the field later this season, I plan to show that I have learned from my actions and that this moment doesn't define me as a player or the respect I have for my opponents and the game," said Fischer.
The NWSL Disciplinary Committee issued new rulings on Monday, extending existing suspensions after further reviewing violations of the league's rulebook.
Racing Louisville midfielder Ary Borges earned an additional three-game suspension to her original April 27th red card offense for postgame dissent, with the committee finding that Borges "pushed the center official," per an NWSL release.
The league also handed Washington Spirit head coach Jonatan Giráldez an extra one-game suspension for his April 26th red card incident, determining that Giráldez "failed to exit the field as required by the NWSL following ejection from a match."
While the members of the NWSL Disciplinary Committee are anonymous, they're responsible for monitoring conduct that warrants review beyond punishments given on the pitch.
Borges previously apologized for her behavior during the Louisville's chippy draw against Portland, saying she let the "the emotional side of the moment" get to her amid officiating concerns.
"I'm not much of talking about referees because they are things that are beyond our control but what happened today in the match was a shame," she added.
Originally penalized for entering the opposing side's technical area in the final minutes of the Spirit's 3-0 loss to Gotham, Giráldez did not comment on his suspension.
At the time, assistant coach Adrián González told reporters, "Sometimes you have a lot of things that you cannot control… He was just trying to protect our players or coaching staff, but nothing else."
Due to the extended NWSL suspensions, Borges will sit out Louisville's next three regular-season matches — May 9th's game against Gotham, May 16th's clash with Seattle, and May 24th's visit to Angel City — while Giráldez will miss Washington's May 10th match against Chicago.