Earlier this week, the Vancouver Whitecaps dropped the CONCACAF Champions Cup final with an embarrassing 5-0 loss to Cruz Azul on Sunday at Estadio Olímpico Universitario in Mexico City. In the week since, Vancouver’s situation has gotten more unsettled.
The Whitecaps announced Thursday that a “significant number” of players and staff developed “gastrointestinal symptoms” following the team’s return from Mexico. The team said that it had canceled practice Wednesday as a result of the widespread illness, calling it a “precautionary measure” after consulting with medical staff.
“The health and well-being of our players and staff remain our top priority. Each player has been provided with an individualized program by the medical and performance staff to support their continued preparation and recovery,” the team said in the statement. “We are actively monitoring the situation and will provide updates as more information becomes available.”
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The Whitecaps aren’t the only MLS team whose CONCACAF tournament was marred by tummy troubles: A similar situation happened last year with the Columbus Crew, who was plagued with what was later thought to be food poisoning ahead of the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup final against Pachuca, also held in Mexico. Columbus lost the game 3-0.
Vancouver, in an attempt to learn from the Crew, brought its own chef to Mexico in an attempt to stave off potential illness. Though the club has not made any allegations of foul play, Canadian national team head coach Jesse Marsch told reporters at an event on Friday that he’s suspicious of the circumstances.
“It’s for me, appalling that this is the second year in a row that Concacaf and the powers that be have allowed an MLS team to go down to Mexico for a big final and get poisoned,” Marsch said, via The Athletic.
The three Whitecaps players on Canada’s roster, Jayden Nelson, Ali Ahmed and Sam Adekugbe, were able to join the team for their first training session during the international window, but were separated from the rest of the squad.
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Marsch, who played in MLS and on the U.S. men’s national team before going into coaching, told reporters that there was often light sabotage when club teams would play in Mexico.
“It was ‘will the fire alarm be pulled in the middle of the night? Will there be dancing and singing?’ And those are somewhat spirited, competitive advantages that are created when you go down to Mexico. But poisoning the team is another, is another version,” Marsch said.
“Look I don’t have any proof here that this (happened) but it’s not random,” he added. “It’s not random that two years in a row this has happened. If I were the Vancouver Whitecaps, if I were the Columbus Crew, if I were MLS, I would be absolutely angry that this has been allowed to happen.”
Crew head coach Wilfried Nancy also seemed suspicious of the circumstances last year, later saying he believed the tournament’s final should take place at a neutral site.
Regardless of the malady, MLS teams have not had a very good run in the CONCACAF Champions Cup (formerly known as the CONCACAF Champions League). Since the tournament was changed to its modern format in 2008, only one MLS club — the Seattle Sounders — have won the trophy. The other titles have all gone to Liga MX squads.
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It’s not entirely clear how many players the Whitecaps will be able to field for the next few games. In addition to the players out with illness, Vancouver has nine players who will be leaving the club during the international window — the second most in MLS.
Vancouver hosts the Seattle Sounders on Sunday, before traveling to play the Crew on June 14.
