06 November 2023 , 16:09
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Vancouver Whitecaps players were left furious with the referee of their Audi MLS Cup Playoff game against defending champions, LAFC, after one of their players was blocked by the official leading to a later disallowed goal.
Vancouver were trailing LAFC 1-0 deep into added-time in the second half and even threw their goalkeeper into the mix to attack a late corner. The ball was headed clear by an LAFC defender and as a Whitecaps player closed in on the ball to get a shot off, he collided with the referee.
LAFC then regained possession and launched a counterattack, with Carlos Vela honing in on goal. The Mexican then passed the ball off to Denis Bouanga, who rolled the ball past the final defender and into the net, for what he believed to be the completion of a brace.
The goal sparked a reaction from Vancouver players, with some even putting their hands on the match referee. A VAR review then took place and the goal was ruled out for offside but in the Whitecaps' minds, the damage was already done, and a potential chance on goal soiled.
Vanni Sartini, Vancouver's head coach, could be seen on camera gesturing, letting his fury be known on the sidelines. Sartini went as far as to say that his team never had a fair chance of winning the playoff game against LAFC and singled out the refereeing.
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“At the end, we didn't have a fair chance, to be honest,” Sartini said in his post-match press conference. “[It's] because today unfortunately the referee had the bad game.”
Sartini added: "I don't understand, to be honest, why he didn't stop [play] because every time that the referee touches the ball … he stops and gives the ball to the team that was in possession of the ball. We were in possession of the ball, and we lost possession because of him. I don't know why he didn't give us possession immediately.”
Vancouver has, however, taken the positives from their narrow playoff defeats to LAFC. The Whitecaps have significantly improved in 2023. "The biggest takeaway from this season is that we are a team that can easily start the next season and say ‘We want to win this thing'," a determined Sartini said.
The 1-0 LAFC win sealed the MLS Cup playoff series against Vancouver. They will now wait to face the winner of the series between the Seattle Sounders and Dallas, who are tied 1-1. LAFC will need to win a Western Conference semi-and final in order to reach the MLS Cup, where they will take on the Eastern Conference winners.
Elsewhere in the Western Conference bracket, Sporting Kansas City shocked St. Louis to advance. SKC won the first game 4-1 and the second 2-1. They have to wait to find out who they will be facing in the semi-final out of Houston Dynamo and Real Salt Lake, with the former leading the series following a 2-1 Game 1 win.