Just when you thought a 5-0 loss in the CONCACAF Champions Cup was enough of a sh#@* experience, the Vancouver Whitecaps may be forced to postpone their upcoming match against the Seattle Sounders in MLS league play.
The club released a statement to the public earlier today that since returning from Mexico, “a significant number of Whitecaps FC players and staff reported gastrointestinal symptoms.”
Axel Schuster, Whitecaps CEO and sporting director, spoke to media and attempted to quell any rumours around the incident, stating that there “is a little hint that it might have been something that happened after the game.”
Over 50 per cent of the players and support staff who travelled back to Vancouver have shown symptoms.
However, Schuster also stated that players who had been called up to their respective national teams had suffered less.
“It feels like anyone who wasn’t travelling back [with the team] had less impact. So, the national team players, most of them were not travelling back with us. Most of them had way less or no symptoms.”
The Whitecaps have been working with health authorities in B.C., as well as medical staff within MLS and the various national teams, not only to mitigate the potential spread but also to understand the underlying cause of the outbreak.
There have been no new cases over the past 24 hours, according to Schuster.
“We are now or less working day-to-day as the situation evolves and changes and what that means for training tomorrow,” he said.
Sunday matchday or not?
The Whitecaps are supposed to host the Sounders at BC Place on Sunday, June 8. They were already going to have a depleted squad with nine players on international call-ups and Ryan Gauld still out with injury.
The added potential loss of players to illness raised questions about whether the Whitecaps would be able to field a healthy squad for that match.
“The protocols are pretty clear. If the safety and health of the players who play would be at risk, then the league has the right to cancel a game. Is that the case? Obviously, it’s up to discussion,” Schuster said.
According to MLS Match Delay, Suspension, Postponement, Cancellation, and Forfeiture Policy, “The determination of whether a match is considered ‘delayed’, ‘suspended’ or ‘postponed’ shall be made by the League Office in its sole and absolute discretion.”
“It wouldn’t be possible to make a fair analysis on that before we know what our situation looks like tomorrow,” Schuster said of any potential postponement. “It’s not ideal. The situation wasn’t already ideal. I think the only similar thing that I have seen in MLS so far was the Conference Final between Philadelphia and New York [in 2022]. That was COVID-related. And we all know Philadelphia had to play with a similar amount of players out.”
Schuster said no one is panicking or rushing to make an ill-informed decision. Rather, the involvement of medical professionals from the province and the league is to ensure that all information is considered and that any decision will be based on medical evidence.
Currently, the kickoff for Sunday’s match is at 6 p.m.
