Arney expected to coach Friday night

McALLEN - McAllen High girls soccer coach Patrick Arney will be back on the sidelines Friday night after serving a one-game suspension for his actions Saturday in San Benito.

Arney pulled his team off the field against Harlingen South in what was supposed to be the championship match of the Dog Pound Invitational. The incident, which was recorded and uploaded to YouTube, came about because Arney was frustrated with the officiating during the tournament.

McHi athletic coordinator Tony Harris and principal Christine Beck suspended Arney for Monday’s game against McAllen Rowe, which the Lady Bulldogs won 6-0.

“I’ve been doing it for 24 years,” McAllen ISD athletic director Poppy Rodriguez said. “If anybody gets kicked out, it’s an automatic one-game suspension, no questions asked. We don’t get ourselves in those positions. This is something we’ve been doing at McAllen ISD, and we don’t tolerate that. (Arney) caught himself in a situation he regrets, and he paid for it.”

Harris said Tuesday he had reported the incident to the University Interscholastic League but wasn’t expecting any further discipline toward Arney.

If the UIL were to rule that Arney were ejected by the officials, he would be subject to an additional one-game suspension and one year of probation.

“We don’t know what the UIL is going to do. But, we try to make sure that we’re dealing with any problems we have,” Harris said. “We’re being proactive, and telling our coaches to do the right thing. So, our standard policy is we’re going to take care of it the next playable date.”

UIL media officer Kim Rogers did not return calls seeking comment on the situation.

Harris said this incident was the first involving Arney, who was named The Monitor’s Coach of the Year in 2007 for leading the Lady Bulldogs to the regional semifinals. This season, McHi looks capable of matching that accomplishment, having won pre-district tournaments in McAllen and Brownsville.

Whether the Lady Bulldogs get the chance to return to the San Benito tournament, however, still hasn’t been decided. San Benito athletic director Mario Pena didn’t sound like he expected McHi to be banned from the event.

“Ultimately, I can tell you as an A.D. I’m not going to hurt kids,” Pena said. “Ultimately, it was not the soccer team that made the decision. I always try to keep in mind the best interest of the kids. I wouldn’t hurt the girls for the actions of their coach.”

Arney, who could not be reached for this story, said Saturday he was going to send apologies to San Benito and Harlingen South. By Tuesday, Harris had already spoken with Pena and conveyed his regret for the incident.

Harlingen South coach Omar Pedroza said he received a call from Arney, who profusely apologized.

“He’s a really good guy. I’ve known Pat for about 12 years. He’s always done a real good job over there at McHi,” Pedraza said. “I didn’t think anything was going to happen as far as (a suspension) was concerned.”

Video of the event, which has already been viewed over 650 times on YouTube, depicts Arney telling the referee “Sir, sir, if you make another call like that, we’re going home.” After the referee says something to Arney, he tells his team “Girls, let’s go” and then tells the referee, “If you’re going to make calls like that.. girls, let’s go.”

“We all make mistakes in our lifetimes. Nobody’s perfect, and evidently, that was an imperfect situation,” Rodriguez said. “As a school district, that’s not us. And we’re trying to correct the situation.”

Brian Sandalow covers high school sports for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4436.