Latest news with #AxelSchuster
New York Times
6 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Cruz Azul spokesperson: Marsch ‘out of line' for Whitecaps poisoning allegation
A Cruz Azul spokesperson has labeled Canada manager Jesse Marsch's accusations as 'out of line,' after Marsch claimed that Vancouver Whitecaps players were 'poisoned' during the MLS side's trip to Mexico City for the Concacaf Champions Cup final. Cruz Azul won the match 5-0 on Sunday night in a dominant performance in which Vancouver failed to register a single shot. On Thursday, the Whitecaps said in a statement that a 'significant number' of players and staff had fallen ill upon the team's return to Canada. Advertisement The Athletic reported that only seven of the 26 players who traveled to Mexico City had not presented any symptoms. On Thursday, Vancouver sporting director Axel Schuster avoided any assumptions that Cruz Azul had anything to do with the outbreak. 'Not only have we lost the game, we also have picked up some form of a virus and are dealing with that right now,' Schuster told reporters. 'I don't think it's right to speculate anything before we have more proof.' But on Friday, Marsch, whose Canada roster for this summer's Concacaf Gold Cup features three Whitecaps players, did not mince words when he told a group of reporters in Toronto his feelings about the situation. '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. 'It's ridiculous. Something has to be done to protect these environments.' 'Look, in the past when you would go down there, I remember being with the U.S. national team and club teams going down to 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.' Whitecaps players Sam Adekugbe, Ali Ahmed, and Jayden Nelson are Canadian internationals and were among the players who fell ill. 'When all three of (Nelson, Adekugbe and Ahmed) are sick, it's clear. It wasn't just, 'Ah, I don't feel so great'. There was talk of whether it was an infectious virus but in the end, I don't want to speak but I think the results are that it was food poisoning.' Advertisement Vancouver traveled to Mexico City with its own chefs and sent additional staff members to Mexico prior to the final to ensure that preparations were satisfactory. This is normal across all sports, but it took on added importance after the Columbus Crew were defeated 3-0 in the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup final to Pachuca. That match was also played in Mexico and several Crew players suffered a similar stomach illness the day prior and the day of the final. 'We're very confident that our setup is good,' Schuster told DH Sports on May 30, the day before the loss to Cruz Azul. 'Nothing will get in our way to play with the best performance on Sunday.' The Cruz Azul spokesperson told The Athletic on Friday that Marsch's comments sounded like 'damage control' following the Whitecaps' humiliating defeat. He added that Cruz Azul does not participate in any logistical planning, including meals, for visiting teams. Clubs from around the world play competitive matches in Mexico without incident, the spokesperson added – the Whitecaps themselves played at Monterrey and Pumas UNAM en route to the final. The hotel where Vancouver stayed in Mexico City is one that is used consistently by several first division Liga MX teams, including Club América. While Vancouver officials believe that the players and staff members became ill following a post-game meal that did not take place at their team hotel, Schuster was asked on Thursday if any players felt ill before Sunday's final. 'In hindsight, everyone felt ill during the game,' he said with a laugh. 'It feels like something happened after the game,' he continued. 'And then on the flight it was somehow transmitted. But now I'm a little bit in the speculation that I didn't really want to go to, so my answer to that is that it is unlikely that it was already there during the game.' Advertisement Schuster was asked if the post-game meal was the source of the virus. 'I really don't want to speculate because it also leads to accusations,' he said. 'Who was responsible for that? Was it provided by our opponent or whoever? We had actually two post-match meals. I don't even know because I wasn't at the airport, because there was more food provided at the airport again. 'So yeah, the only thing I can say is that in our first short little research, it is interesting that in all groups, players, staff, traveling party, national team players, it was more or less 50% (who got sick). The people who haven't been there after the game are 100% healthy.'
CBC
09-04-2025
- Business
- CBC
Vancouver Whitecaps CEO says intention is to keep team in city with 'no plan B'
Axel Schuster, the Whitecaps' CEO and sporting director, says a proposed new stadium comes at a time when the team's owners are preparing to sell the city's Major League Soccer franchise. He acknowledged political turbulence is affecting the team off the field, but he hopes the club's good start to the season continues.
