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Sports
LAFC 1, Whitecaps 0: Refs ruin the night for Caps and their record crowd
They booed Max Crepeau every time he touched the ball. They booed the officials for every questionable call. They booed lustily every time an Los Angeles FC player fell heavily to the B.C. Place turf, pantomiming some phantom injury — a display of theatrics that was both frequent and frustrating.
The black-clad visitors will move on in the MLS playoffs to face the winner of Seattle vs. Dallas, which will be decided next Friday.
L.A earned a 22nd-minute penalty when referee Tim Ford ruled that Caps centreback Tristan Blackmon had tripped Mario González in the box, pointing immediately to the spot. The jazzed-up stadium erupted in disbelief, but there was no call for Ford to check his decision on a sideline monitor, as the VAR check showed no error in judgment.
Denis Bouanga powered it home past a helpless Yohei Takaoka, and it stood up as the winner.
The loudest boos of the night came in the final moments of injury time, when Ford knocked over Alessandro Schöpf just as he was trying to hit a shot after an extended bout of Whitecaps pressure. L.A. turned it the other way, and scored into an empty net, and the crowd went bananas, with invectives of every description being thrown at him.
Incandescent with rage, Whitecaps coach Vanni Sartini practically went into orbit, getting ejected from the game with a red card.
He wasn’t there to see Ford called to the monitor for a VAR check, and the goal chalked off for offside — as Takaoka was still upfield, it meant Carlos Vela’s pass put Bounga in an offside position.
“Maybe he felt excited because he was in Canada and he wanted to do (something Canadian). … I think Tim is a good guy but … the referee was a disaster. We have to be completely honest; the referee was a disaster. … At the end, we didn’t have a fair chance, to be honest. Because today, unfortunately, the referee had a bad game.”
Sartini went on to describe the plays he had issues with, including the non-penalty on Richie Laryea in the second half. If that wasn’t called, the González call shouldn’t have either, he said.
The game was whistled moments after Bounga’s goal was waved off, and B.C. Place security was needed to keep the Whitecaps players — notably Sam Adekugbe — from the officials as they were led off the field. Bottles, streamers and profanity followed them off as they were quickly ushered down the tunnel and out.
They were probably passed by Sartini, who came back through the tunnel after the final whistle to cheers and applause as he saluted the crowd and gathered his team together.
Sartini knows there will be blowback for his comments about the officiating, and made the request to the journalists at the presser not to ask the players about the refereeing, so he could take all the fines. And he knows it will probably go beyond a financial hit.
There were a combined 32 fouls in the Decision Day meeting at B.C. Place between these two teams, and the physical play carried over on Sunday. Takaoka took a foot to the face from Gonzalez in the 40th minute, but it only earned the L.A. player a yellow card.
The visitors were lucky not to be down to 10 men, as Gonzalez had also gotten away with another bookable offence earlier in the half.
LAFC showed off their battle-hardened experience with the display, as the cheap fouls broke up the Whitecaps’ offence and kept them from building any momentum.
The Whitecaps had 13 shots to L.A.’s eight, but Crepeau was the man of the match, making several key saves against his old team, including a late White header in the 85th minute and a Gauld volley in the 98th.
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TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Sports
Champions Trophy host Pakistan says it’s not been told India wants to play cricket games elsewhere
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Pakistan hosted last year’s Asia Cup but all India games were played in Sri Lanka under a hybrid model for the tournament. Only months later Pakistan did travel to India for the 50-over World Cup.
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
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AP cricket:
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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