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Vancouver’s Mathias Laborda was chasing for a ball along the right side of the penalty area with Mykhi Joyner of St. Louis when Laborda fell to the turf. Bazakos paused play and took a long look on a video monitor before awarding the Whitecaps their second penalty kick of the game. Replays available on TSN made it appear that Laborda tripped on his own.
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Brian White had scored on a penalty earlier in the game.
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Whitecaps fans were miffed with Ford — who had an episode with the Whitecaps during the Vanni Sartini era — over a second yellow card issued to Edier Ocampo just 27 minutes into an Aug. 9 game in San Jose. The two yellows kicked Ocampo out of the game, and the Whitecaps playing a man down played a role in a 2-1 loss to San Jose. An independent review panel later overturned the second yellow.
We’ll see what the aftermath is out of Saturday’s situation. But St. Louis backers aren’t likely to go quiet any time soon. Here’s what some have said on X:
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It seems fair to suggest that the league needs a rethink on its officiating standards and maybe its pool of referees.
TSN soccer analyst Kevin Kilbane said: “Again, unfortunately, we are talking about officiating and refereeing decisions that are costing sides. The other week, it cost the Whitecaps. Today, it’s gained the Whitecaps three points. Ultimately it’s poor. I think it’s a real scar on the MLS.”
St. Louis interim head coach David Critchley did an admirable job in the post-game interview session of trying to stick to how well his team — sitting 14th in the Western Conference — matched up against the Whitecaps on the road, saying things like, “to watch these guys perform like they did … massive amounts of being proud, being happy.”
He did admit this: “I’m pretty upset with, as you guys can imagine, a lot of situations on the field out of our control. I think we have to get better as a league.”
Goalkeeper Roman Bürki was more blunt, saying: “What I heard now, and not only from our side but also from Vancouver’s side, is that it was a joke, to be honest.”
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