Jesse Marsch, Canada Soccer face discipline from CONCACAF for Gold Cup actions
Canadian men’s soccer coach Jesse Marsch is once again facing disciplinary action from CONCACAF, the soccer authority for North, Central America, and the Caribbean. The organization has initiated proceedings against Canada Soccer and Marsch for incidents that took place during Canada’s recent Gold Cup match against Honduras. Despite Canada’s impressive 6-0 victory over Honduras at Vancouver’s B.C. Place, Marsch was absent from the sidelines as he was serving the first of a two-match suspension.
In a statement released on Wednesday, CONCACAF stated that the Disciplinary Committee will be reviewing all available evidence, including official reports that detail how the Canadian Soccer Association and its head coach allegedly disregarded regulations applicable to suspended match officials and used offensive language towards CONCACAF match officials. This latest disciplinary action stems from an incident back in March when Marsch was ejected from a third-place game against the United States in the CONCACAF Nations League.
In addition to the automatic one-game suspension that Marsch received for the previous incident, he was docked another game for what was described as “unacceptable conduct towards the match officials and for delaying the restart of the match by refusing to leave the field of play.” At that time, the disciplinary committee had warned Canada Soccer and Marsch that more severe sanctions could be imposed if similar incidents were to occur in future matches.
Marsch’s latest red card came during Canada’s 2-1 victory over the U.S. in Inglewood, California, when he was sent off in the 54th minute for protesting the lack of a penalty call by Mexican referee Katia Garcia. Despite these disciplinary issues, Canada’s national team is set to face Curacao in Houston on Saturday for their next Gold Cup match, followed by a final group stage game against El Salvador on Tuesday.
As the Canadian men’s team continues their Gold Cup campaign, the spotlight remains on Jesse Marsch and his conduct on the sidelines. It is clear that the coach’s actions are under scrutiny, and the consequences of his behavior could have a significant impact on the team’s performance in the tournament. Canada Soccer will need to address these disciplinary issues promptly to ensure that they can focus on their upcoming matches and strive for success in the Gold Cup.
