What Bruce Arena and Revolution players had to say about the controversial non-call in tie vs. Toronto
"I think it was a penalty."
The Revolution managed a 0-0 draw against Toronto FC on Tuesday morning, finishing the MLS is Back Tournament group stage with enough points to clinch a place in the knockout round.
While the game contained a number of quality chances for both teams, an 80th minute incident in the Toronto penalty box drew attention when it appeared midfielder Michael Bradley fouled Revolution forward Gustavo Bou. Had it been called, the foul would have resulted in a New England penalty kick.
Instead, the game moved on with a goal kick despite protests from Bou and other Revolution players.
“I can tell you this: 100 percent a penalty,” said ESPN commentator Alejandro Moreno in the immediate aftermath of the play.
As @AleMorenoESPN says “idk what to tell you” 🤷♂️#NERevs | #TORvNE pic.twitter.com/Sd4GtDjhFW
— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) July 21, 2020
After the game, Revolution head coach Bruce Arena gave more background on the incident, which initially did not appear to have been checked by Video Assistant Referee (VAR), a replay system used by Major League Soccer.
“They claim they went to VAR and they said it wasn’t a clear and obvious mistake,” Arena said in the postgame press conference. “If that’s what VAR said, then they’re using it properly.”
Arena mentioned another incident only moments later, when an originally called penalty kick awarded to Toronto following a foul by New England defender DeJaun Jones was eventually ruled a free kick outside the box.
“They also used VAR on the foul we had on Toronto and they put the ball outside the box,” Arena explained. “So hopefully both decisions were correct and if they were, then VAR is a valuable tool.”
In a follow-up question, Arena was asked if he personally thought Bradley’s foul should have been a penalty kick for his team.
“I really can’t tell,” Arena said. “There was a little bit of contact. You know, the referee’s right there, he said he saw it, he saw the play, [and] they reviewed it. I’m sitting far away. I think the referee and VAR should be better positioned to make that call then I [am]. So I’m going to go by the call.”
Revolution players were less diplomatic.
“I did,” said midfielder Kelyn Rowe when asked if he thought it should have been a penalty kick. “I think it was a penalty, but it doesn’t matter what I think. It wasn’t called in the game and so we just have to move on.”
Center back Andrew Farrell concurred with Rowe, also noting that ultimately New England had to simply move on.
“I think it was a pen, but we had a lot of chances to score goals,” said Farrell. “I think the team played well. Obviously disappointed we didn’t get the call, but we had a chance to score and fought a good game. It’s up the ref to call it.”
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