Wilfried Nancy left Lower.com Field on Saturday night feeling confident he’d serve a mandatory one-match MLS suspension for being assessed a red card late in the Crew’s 1-1 draw against New York City FC.
The Crew coach felt certain league officials would review the match, observe the same officiating “mistakes” he saw affecting both teams and not assess additional punitive measures for an uncharacteristic move to storm the field in protest of a non-call late in the game.
More: MLS video of Crew coach Wilfried Nancy ejection
Nancy misjudged the league, which assessed additional fines and suspensions Tuesday to both the coach and Federico Pizzuto, a Crew fitness/rehab coach, for their actions during the 87th minute — including Nancy booting a ball before leaving the sidelines and Pizzuto squirting liquid onto an official.
After not coaching Saturday in Portland, Nancy will sit out a second match Aug. 20 when the Crew host FC Cincinnati in what should have been his first home experience in the “Hell is Real” rivalry. On Wednesday, he expressed his disagreement with the punishment, which the Crew will not appeal.
“I was really surprised, and I was disappointed too,” Nancy said. “I am a human being, but my reaction was not good, for sure. I have to be punished for that. I accept that and have no problem with that, but the fact that I got a second game… for me that doesn’t make any sense. Why doesn’t it make any sense? Because my reaction (was) a consequence of a poor decision that the referee made.”
Columbus Crew coach Wilfried Nancy laments officiating ‘mistakes’
Nancy wasn’t sure if Pizzuto’s squirting of liquid onto a match official near the Columbus sideline played a role in the MLS assessing additional suspensions for both of them.
“Honestly, I don’t know, but what I know is that (Pizzuto) cannot do that, and he won’t do that anymore, simple as that,” Nancy said. “He cannot do that. After that, I don’t like to make assumptions. So, what I know is the decision is not correct with the second (match suspension), knowing my past.”
Pizzuto was banned for three MLS matches and will miss games against Portland, FC Cincinnati plus an Aug. 26 tilt against Toronto FC at Lower.com Field.
Nancy made it clear that the non-call late in the game was not the sole reason for his complaints. His team was trailing 1-0 and down a man after star forward Cucho Hernandez was ejected for a second yellow card in the 69th minute, but Nancy’s tirade was the result of an issue that started earlier. It was a tempest that started brewing early between official Sergeii Boiko and both teams ― not to mention Crew supporters in the stands.
Nancy, who’s typically stoic, was pushed past her own emotional threshold.
“Since the beginning of my career, as an assistant coach and also as a (head) coach, I am a calm and composed person,” Nancy said. “All the referees, I know they cannot say anything against me. Anything. Every week, we have a report about red cards and warnings and so on. Since the beginning of the year, Columbus … (we) maybe have one warning, something like that? Some coaches have six, seven, eight and they haven’t been suspended.”
Columbus Crew coach Wilfried Nancy says better communication is needed with MLS officials
Nancy spoke for seven minutes on the topic of MLS officiating and suggested multiple ways the league could avoid similar incidents in the future — including a weekly officiating report that’s released publicly, officials being made available to the media, stiffer consequences for costly officiating mistakes and improved communication between officials, players and coaches.
Nancy said two Crew players told him early in the NYCFC match that talking with match officials wasn’t an option.
“The only way (Baiko) was doing his job was to book ‘yellow card, red card,'” Nancy said. “If you don’t have communication, how can you do your job?” Impossible. So, that’s why I’m disappointed a lot about the league and the decision they made.”
The Dispatch has not heard back from MLS after a Tuesday inquiry about the additional penalties.
It appears that Baiko was not reprimanded for his handling of the match in Columbus and was assigned a big match Wednesday in Nashville between the Philadelphia Union and Nashville SC — two teams holding playoff positions.
More: ‘Let’s move on’: Cucho Hernandez addresses ejection during Crew draw vs. NYCFC
Nancy, meanwhile, will lead crew training sessions before watching from the stands Saturday night at Portland’s Providence Park. He’ll be separated from team areas at the stadium during a window starting 90 minutes prior to kickoff until the end of the match.
It’s a suspension he’s fine serving. The next one will leave a bitter taste while taking in another “Hell is Real” rivalry match as a spectator.
“(Officiating mistakes) happened in the past, many times, and I said nothing,” Nancy said. “At this moment (Saturday night), I had to do something, because it was unfair. I can accept a lot of things, but this? I cannot accept that.”
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Crew’s Wilfried Nancy ‘surprised’ by MLS suspension ruling