Home MLS Montreal Impact Schallibaum suspended, Nelsen fined ahead of Impact-TFC match

Schallibaum suspended, Nelsen fined ahead of Impact-TFC match

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Marco Schallibaum will not be coaching the Montreal Impact Wednesday night as it faces Toronto FC at BMO Field.

Major League Soccer announced Wednesday that Schallibaum and assistant coach Philippe Eullaffroy for their actions in Saturday’s 4-3 loss to Colorado. Mauro Biello will take the Impact’s reins for the BMO Field date.

As well, the league has fined and warned Toronto FC coach Ryan Nelsen for his team’s misconduct in Saturday’s home loss to Real Salt Lake.

The Impact organization would have been expecting Eullaffroy’s ban, as he tossed a ball at Colorado’s Tony Cascio late in the match. But the suspension to Schallibaum came as a shock the organization. The Impact appealed the ban, but failed. He wasn’t kicked out of the game, and the team said he didn’t even receive a warning for the official. His crime? Stepping onto the field of play.

“Marco had no bad intentions towards the referee or the players from the other team,” declared Impact sporting director Nick De Santis in a release issued by the club. “We were really surprised to learn about the suspension as he was not ejected from the game, nor sanctioned by the referee. We tried to appeal the suspension, but unfortunately the rule is quite clear. You cannot step onto the pitch, even if the distance from the coach’s box to the touchline is very short at Stade Saputo.”

Schallibaum was previously suspended for abusing an official in June 2’s triumph over Sporting Kansas City.

Nelsen was fined because of his team’s actions. Under new anti-swarming rules in MLS, if the teams confront each other on the pitch, the coach is held responsible. In the incident which saw TFC’s Doneil Henry and RSL’s Tony Beltran both ejected, the teams came together and exchanged words and shoves. Because it was the first “mass confrontation” warning for RSL coach Jason Kreis, he just got a warning. But, for Nelsen, he got fined because it was TFC’s second offence.

The first offence? That came in extra time of TFC’s only “home” win of the year, a March triumph over Sporting Kansas City at Rogers Centre. The teams came together with just seconds left in the match, after Darren O’Dea had made a yellow-card challenge. The video of that is below…

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One Comment

  1. footy

    July 3, 2013 at 10:46 pm

    Jeez, I thought soccer was a contact sport between two teams of grown men. Sometimes things heat up. So what? MLS is making itself look ridiculous. Last weekend’s brawl was nothing, if anything give both players yellow. But that’s not even good enough, the coach gets fined. What is he, a kindergarten teacher? How does this look to the average hockey-fan, I wonder?

    What a shock it will be for future American and Canadian soccer players, when they go out and play in other countries. Man the Mexicans must be laughing their asses off when they hear this stuff.

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