Canada’s men’s national team head coach, Jesse Marsch, is in hot water again, despite already being suspended.
Currently serving a two-match suspension for his actions in the Concacaf Nations League Third-Place match against the U.S. men’s national team in March, the 51-year-old American watched from the press box as his Canadian squad dominated Honduras 6–0 to start the Concacaf Gold Cup.
Yet, he irked Concacaf again, with the confederation announcing Wednesday evening that he is under investigation “for incidents that occurred” during the match at Vancouver’s BC Place, where Canada could play up to four FIFA World Cup games next summer.
“The Disciplinary Committee will review all available evidence, including official reports detailing that the CSA and its head coach disregarded regulations applicable to suspended match officials and used offensive language toward Concacaf match officials,” Concacaf’s statement said.
Previously, the current suspension from the Nations League was supplemented, suspending Marsch for an extra match after he received a red card for appealing a missed penalty call for Canada in the clash with the USMNT.
“My frustration [on the missed penalty] paled in comparison to their anger,” Marsch told reporters of his players at the time, “And the reason why is because I think they felt that disrespect for a long time [in Concacaf].”
In Canada’s Gold Cup opener at BC Place, Marsch was shown watching the match from the top level of the press box alongside other Canadian coaches and analysts. However, according to Canadian Soccer Daily, he may not have stayed in the box, potentially crossing lines in his suspension.
Not The First Time Irking Concacaf
The recent situations are not the only time Marsch has had issues with Concacaf.
Ahead of the Gold Cup, he alleged that several Canada and Vancouver Whitecaps FC players had been “poisoned” after their Concacaf Champions Cup loss to Cruz Azul, as the Whitecaps suffered gastrointestinal issues in Mexico, one year after Columbus Crew SC suffered a similar situation in their Champions Cup Final against Pachuca.
He also questioned why he was required to name his Gold Cup squad ahead of the pre-tournament friendlies against Ukraine and the Ivory Coast in Toronto.
And on Wednesday morning, after training in Vancouver ahead of travelling to Houston for the remaining Group B games against Curaçao and El Salvador, he also expressed frustration with the Gold Cup, regarding the limited adaptation time in Houston and the unidentified destination for Canada’s potential quarter-final match.
“I’m actually disappointed that we couldn’t get down [to Houston] earlier because they didn’t have room for us...however, Concacaf arranged this, they didn’t have time for us because maybe other games or something is going on down there where they we can’t get down there sooner,” he told reporters.
“We’re only there for Matchday-1, so we don’t have much time to acclimate.”
Concacaf President Offers Insight
While Canada Soccer has not provided additional comments, and Concacaf did not detail any specific allegations, the investigation will continue and could potentially push back Marsch’s expected return to the touchline against El Salvador on June 24.
“Coaches all motivate their teams in different ways,” FIFA vice president and Concacaf president Victor Montagliani—who is Canadian—told OneSoccer and TSN when asked about Marsch.
“The reality is Concacaf puts a lot of effort and money into this field [BC Place] is magnificent as you can see. [The grass pitch upgrades] cost us a million dollars. They fly charter, they star in five-star hotels. Listen, if I had to worry about every time a coach had to say something, then I probably wouldn’t be doing my job.”
Canada’s Gold Cup games are their final competitive matches ahead of next year’s World Cup, meaning any outstanding suspensions would carry over into the group stage matches in Toronto and Vancouver.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Canada’s Suspended Marsch Under New Concacaf Investigation, Laments Lack of Acclimation Time at Gold Cup.
