Jesse Marsch drops X-rated comment about touchline fury after being restrained by own player

Jesse Marsch was left furious by a controversial decision during Canada’s World Cup win over South Africa.

The co-hosts were denied a penalty on the brink of half time in the last 32 showdown at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.

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Richie Laryea had gone down inside the area under a challenge from Khuliso Mudau.

Despite penalty appeals from Canada, referee Joao Pinheiro did not point to the spot.

Meanwhile, there was no VAR intervention to overturn the on-field decision.

Replays showed that Mudau had got a slight touch on the ball with his challenge before the collision with Laryea.

However, Marsch disagreed and was still enraged by the call when the half-time whistle blew.

The Canada boss attempted to confront the referee on the pitch before being led away by Canada defender Moise Bombito.

Several of his players did confront the Portuguese official, though, as they continued their appeals.

Canada had earlier gone closest to breaking the deadlock during the first half, with South Africa scrambling the ball off the line from a set-piece.

Marsch reaction

Following their win, Marsch provided another flashpoint during his post-match press conference.

The former Leeds United manager was asked if his speeches could be seen as performative.

It came after he gathered his players in a huddle on the pitch at full-time before calling them ‘Canadian heroes’.

Marsch did not mince his words, replying: “People like to say it’s performative to meet on the pitch. Frankly, I don’t give a s*** what people have to say.

“All I care about is our own team and what we do together. In these moments, it’s hard because after the game everybody gets pulled in a million different directions by media.

“You don’t really have a chance to be with your team, unless you take that moment right there. So, at different times, we’ve shared messages with each other.

“I always try to get the leaders to speak because they’re Canadian, this is their national team. But, I wanted to be able to voice to them how important a moment this will prove to be for the sport in the country, for the national team programme.

“It’s a shame we couldn’t do it in Vancouver (after 2-1 loss to Switzerland), in front of our fans but nonetheless, I think you saw the character of the team, the quality of the team, the mentality of the team, the togetherness of the team.

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“It’s a pleasure to be their coach, and the responsibility I feel to them specifically is what motivates me every day, to try to prepare and create the platform for them to be their greatest, and I think they did that today.”

‘That’s a foul’

Former referee Christina Unkel disagreed with the decision of the officials not to award a spot-kick.

Speaking on ITV’s coverage, she explained: “I would prefer to see a penalty given and an on-field recommendation.

“A good example is Vinicius Jr against Scotland. These are the ones that are up for debate. In my personal opinion, I think that’s a foul and a penalty.”

However, Unkel later revealed why VAR did not get involved to overturn the decision.

She added: “With the angles the VARs have available, they made a good call with that touch in the build-up.

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“It is debateable, but VARs are not getting involved at decisions at a very high level.”

It was Canada who had the last laugh at full time though with Stephen Eustaquio’s stoppage-time strike sealing a 1-0 win and the Canadians’ first ever spot in the last 16 of the World Cup.

Canada will play either the Netherlands or Morocco in the last 16 with their clash taking place on Monday.

The last 16 clash will take place in Houston on Saturday.

Canada finished second in Group B behind Switzerland, whilst their opponents were runners-up in Group A behind Mexico.