June 20 – Under fire Canada coach Jesse Marsch who is facing disciplinary action following his behaviour at Canada’s opening game of the Gold Cup, said “there’s a process in place and I respect that”.
At a press conference ahead of Canada’s second Group B clash against Curaçao, Marsch wasn’t to be drawn further on the charges against him except that “Canada Soccer have been amazing at supporting me… I don’t want to take anything away from the team.”
On Tuesday Canada hammered Honduras 6-0 in Montreal in the opening of their Gold Cup campaign, reinforcing their credentials as one of the favourites for the tournament.
Following the game Concacaf issued a statement that it had opened “disciplinary proceedings to investigate the Canadian Soccer Association (CSA) and its head coach, Jesse Marsch, for incidents that occurred during the 2025 Gold Cup match between Canada and Honduras on June 17, 2025.”
Marsch is already serving a two-match suspension for multiple incidents during the 2025 Concacaf Nations League Third Place Match between Canada and the USA on March 23 where he was given a red card for unacceptable conduct towards the match officials and for delaying the restart of the match by refusing to leave the field of play.
Marsch and the Canadian Soccer Association (CSA) are now being investigated for breaking rules that apply to suspended team officials and for using abusive language towards Concacaf match officials.
The CSA has three days to respond to the charges. Marsch is already missing from the bench for Saturday’s game.
Marsch said his team “are squarely focussed on the task ahead… the players are always the story. They don’t need me on the bench.
Asked what plan B is if the high intensity press the Canadians play doesn’t work he replied that it was “an insulting question and that as coaches we have plans C, D and E all the way down to double ZZ.”
Marsch did say that while ‘ruthlessness’ is often a term used round scoring more goals, “there is a culture of ruthlessness being developed within the team”.
So the takeaway is if that doesn’t work and he is down to plan double zee, Canada are in trouble. Marsch still has a game to serve on his current ban before and potential subsequent sanction is imposed. Both he and the CSA had already been warned before the latest incidents that further rule breaking and abusive language would have previous disciplinary decisions taken into account.
CSA insiders are not expecting leniency if they and Marsch are found to have broken rules. The federation is already trying to repair reputation after the drone spying scandal. Marsch and his repeat offensiveness won’t have helped.
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