Whitecaps coach sees red, appeals Waston’s ejection
Vancouver appealing foul called in opening minutes of Saturday’s loss in Atlanta
Carl Robinson’s “blood was boiling” after Saturday’s Major League Soccer game against Atlanta FC.
The Vancouver Whitecaps coach had cooled to a steady simmer by Tuesday, but there was still plenty of latent heat as he addressed the media for the first time since Kendall Waston was flashed a straight red card in the 4-1 loss at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“My blood was boiling. But I’ve calmed down a little bit now,” he said. “I had a very good, positive conversation with (MLS head of referees) Howard Webb over the weekend, and told him what I thought about it. It was good, it was constructive, it was argumentative and it was also positive.
“We’ll appeal, we’ll go through the independent panel … and hopefully common sense comes out. Right is right and wrong is wrong.”
The Whitecaps have appealed the red card. The decision is before an independent review board.
Waston went into the book after an eighth-minute free kick saw him battling with Atlanta’s Leandro González Pirez at the edge of the Whitecaps area. The few video replays available showed Pirez initiating contact, but the 6-1 defender went crashing to the turf after an arm from the much-taller Waston contacted him in the upper chest/ neck area.
A fan-filmed video shot from the stands shows there is a case that could be made for a foul, but there didn’t appear to be the “violent conduct” Waston — who faces a onegame ban or longer — was ejected for.
“That call, I was scratching my head over. To this day, I don’t agree with it,” said Caps forward Kei Kamara, who watched the game from home while resting a groin injury. “But what can you do? We have to respect what they do call.
“You just have to let it go. We know we have to come back to work. We didn’t lose 11 versus 11. We lost being a man down. But the locker-room has been very lively this morning, and we’re not focused on that. We’re only focused on what we can do against L.A. this Saturday.”
Waston’s ejection wasn’t the only one last weekend. Seattle Sounders star midfielder Clint Dempsey was also ejected on a straight red card following a VAR review after elbowing Dallas FC midfielder Jacori Hayes in the midsection.
Dempsey has a history, as does Waston, but even his sending off was debatable as Hayes was holding on to him before the elbow, preventing Dempsey from getting to a loose ball.
The VAR was brought in last season to assist officials in making the correct call, or helping catch missed calls. But, much like the controversial NFL replay rule on catches, it relies on language open to interpretation. What is “clear and obvious” to one official may not be to another.
Then there is the official in question from Saturday night, one who has a lengthy and contentious history with the Whitecaps. Ismail Elfath ejected Brek Shea from a game last season for abusive language, and that was far from the first call he’s made against the team.
Mike McColl of Away From The Numbers pointed out that the Caps are winless in 10 games officiated by Elfath — 3-3-10 overall — and have had 23 yellow cards and three ejections.
The three red cards — to Waston, Shea and Laba — have come in the last five games. Only one opposition player in the 16 Whitecaps games Elfath has officiated has been sent off, and that happened in 2015.
“Decisions are made, and sometimes decisions are wrong. I accept that. It’s football. The human element gets it wrong,” said Robinson.
“The big question with this decision, and Clint Dempsey’s as well, is VAR is there for a reason. It’s there to get these decisions right, and I didn’t think that was the case on the weekend.
“If that’s a penalty, and that’s what was given — forget the red card — then there’ll be a penalty every game. If you go by the letter of the law, I firmly believe it was a foul (against) Kendall.
“Kendall is a marked man. Clint is a marked man. They’re all marked men. It doesn’t make it right or wrong. A right decision is a right decision, a wrong decision is a wrong decision.
“Those are the million-dollar
questions that the powers above me have got to answer. Because I think the idea of the VAR is the right idea, because it’s trying to get the correct decisions, or trying not to get the clear and obvious errors.”
Another issue of note was the replay of the controversial play was shown on the overhead screens at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, sending the crowd of 45,000 into a baying frenzy. This is contrary to MLS policy, as it could affect the judgment of the referee working the game.
Vancouver was already going to be without Waston for this Saturday’s game against the Galaxy at B.C. Place as the big centre-back had been called up by Costa Rica for international duty. However, the straight red card means an automatic one-game suspension, and could be extended if the league deems he is a repeat offender.
Galaxy missing its stars
The Galaxy will be short-handed when they visit B.C. Place Saturday.
Thanks to international duty, coach Sigi Schmid is missing Ola Kamara (Norway), Emrah Klimenta (Montenegro) and the dos Santos brothers, Jonathan and Giovani (Mexico), though the latter two are also suffering from hamstring injuries.
Romain Alessandrini (hamstring), Bradford Jamieson IV (concussion) and Michael Ciani (groin) are all expected to be out.
Joao Pedro is also dealing with a hamstring problem but could return and Chris Pontius may also be fit this weekend, but Ashley Cole is suspended for the game.