MLS hires firm to review Whitecaps’ handling of misconduct allegations

Major League Soccer said Thursday it has launched an independent investigation into how the Vancouver Whitecaps handled allegations of sexual misconduct involving two former coaches of the club’s women’s team.

In a statement, MLS said it had hired attorneys Janice Rubin and Melody Jahanzadeh to investigate allegations surrounding former coaches Bob Birarda and Hubert Busby Jr.

Birarda is facing criminal proceedings in Canada on charges of sexual exploitation and sexual assault relating to a 20-year span between 1988 and 2008.

Former Whitecaps coach Birarda, who was also coach of the Canada Under-20 women’s team, left both his roles in 2008 by “mutual agreement” after allegations of sexual misconduct came to light.

Allegations against Busby surfaced in a report by The Guardian newspaper last month.

Former player Malloree Enoch told the paper that Busby had made sexual advances to her when he was head coach of the Whitecaps from 2010-2011.

Busby, 52, was suspended from his role as coach of the Jamaica women’s national team this week following the allegations.

On Friday, the Whitecaps chief executive, Axel Schuster, apologized for how the club handled allegations against Busby a decade ago.

“The club’s leadership was made aware of allegations against Busby at the end of the 2011 season and promptly secured the services of an independent ombudsperson to oversee an investigation into the matter,” Schuster said.

“We have since learned that the investigation did not reveal certain allegations that were disclosed this week.”

Thursday’s MLS statement said outside investigators would “consider the club’s internal processes and overall culture at the time of the allegations, including what steps it took in response to the allegations.”

The Whitecaps case comes as the National Women’s Soccer League — the top women’s league in North America — is reeling from a string of sexual misconduct scandals.

North Carolina Courage coach Paul Riley was fired in September over allegations of sexual coercion and Washington Spirit coach Richie Burke resigned last month following an investigation into allegations of verbal and emotional abuse.

League commissioner Lisa Baird resigned amid criticism of the league’s failure to respond to complaints about Riley, who was accused of sexually coercing players during his stint at the Portland Thorns from 2014-2015.

Vancouver Whitecaps fire head coach Marc Dos Santos

Less than 24 hours after an embarrassing loss to a team from a lesser league, the Vancouver Whitecaps have fired their head coach.

Marc Dos Santos is out as the team’s manager, the Whitecaps announced, as is his brother and assistant coach Phillip Dos Santos.

Whitecaps director of methodology Vanni Sartini will serve as acting head coach.

“We are very grateful to Marc and Phil for the hard work and sacrifice that they put in to lead our team over the past two and a half years,” said Whitecaps FC sporting director and CEO Axel Schuster. “We are extremely committed to continue moving this club and team in the right direction, and at this time we felt that it was necessary to make a change to achieve our next steps.”

It hasn’t been an easy three seasons for Dos Santos in Vancouver, after being hired in November 2018. Off the field, the Montreal native was first tasked with making player personnel decisions, as well as trying to coach the team on the pitch. The team needed to be rebuilt following the departure of Alphonso Davies and a rift with many players in the locker room.

It didn’t go well, as the Whitecaps finished with the second-worst record in MLS in 2019 before the responsibility of player personnel decisions was given Schuster.

Since then, Dos Santos and the Whitecaps have been displaced for the most part, being unable to play most of their home matches in Vancouver because of the closed border caused by the pandemic.

Vancouver has a 22W-37L-18D record under Dos Santos, and missed the playoffs in each of the last two seasons. They’re currently below the playoff bar this year as well.

“I am very grateful for my time with the Whitecaps and appreciate the support I received during a challenging two plus seasons,” said Dos Santos. “There are a lot of great people at this club, who work extremely hard, and I’m thankful for the time we shared together. I am also especially thankful to the players, technical and support staff and wish everyone all the best. I am very excited about the future.”

It appears a 4-3 loss to CPL team Pacific FC in the Canadian Championship on Thursday was the final straw. The Whitecaps won’t even get to compete in the Canadian Championship quarter-finals, which is a stunning development for one of Canada’s three MLS teams.

Marc Dos Santos telling Whitecaps players not to take Pacific FC lightly…

"Thursday is huge for our club, not for me or for you, for our club, for everyone." pic.twitter.com/T8Em6AUNdg

— Rob Williams (@RobTheHockeyGuy) August 27, 2021

Still, the Whitecaps were playing pretty well recently under Dos Santos. They’re unbeaten in their last eight MLS matches, including two straight victories to pull within three points of a playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Vancouver’s next match is Sunday against Real Salt Lake — their second straight match at BC Place with fans in attendance.

3 Whitecaps academy players assaulted in alleged racist attack

Three Vancouver Whitecaps academy players were assaulted during an outdoor gathering Saturday evening, the Major League Soccer team announced.

The club believes the incident was “a racially motivated attack.”

“Enough is enough. We are heartbroken and sickened by the allegations and strongly condemn all forms of discrimination, racism, and hate,” the Whitecaps said.

“Such disgusting behavior has absolutely no place in our community. We will do everything to support our players affected and urge the toughest punishment possible for those responsible.”

One player was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. He’s expected to make a full recovery following surgery.

The Whitecaps say one suspect was arrested in connection with the incident.

Vancouver Whitecaps forced to temporarily relocate to Utah

The Vancouver Whitecaps will call Utah home next season, at least to start.

The Whitecaps announced today that they will play home games in Sandy, Utah, at Rio Tinto Stadium, the home of MLS rival Real Salt Lake. The move is necessitated by travel restrictions between Canada and the United States due to the pandemic.

“We are very thankful to John Kimball and the entire Real Salt Lake organization for welcoming us into their family, their facilities, and providing a home away from home,” said Axel Schuster, Whitecaps FC CEO and sporting director. “We will have a first-class set-up in Utah including an exclusive training pitch, gym and locker room. Also, special credit to our operations team as this is a monumental undertaking and player care is an important focus at our club.”

Vancouver’s season-opener on April 18 will technically be a home game, in Utah, against the Portland Timbers. Portland is where the Whitecaps hosted six matches last fall, where they actually compiled a decent “home” record of 4W-2L-0D.

While the Whitecaps jet off to Utah, Canada’s other two MLS franchises will call Florida home. Toronto FC will host matches at Exploria Stadium in Orlando, while CF Montreal will play their games in Miami at Inter Miami CF Stadium.

Vancouver’s second match of the season is set for April 24 against Toronto FC, in Orlando. MLS has only announced the home openers for each of its 27 clubs, with the complete regular season schedule to be revealed in the coming weeks.

Utah will be the Whitecaps’ home to start the season, but the club is still holding out hope that they could return to Vancouver before the end of the 2021 campaign. That will depend on the success of vaccine rollout in both countries, of course, though given that the MLS season stretches into the fall, it is a realistic possibility that the Whitecaps could return to BC Place this year.

“We will absolutely miss seeing and hearing our fans at BC Place to start the season,” added Schuster. “Rest assured, our main objective is to play as many of our home games in Vancouver as possible. We’re working very closely with the league and public health officials and look forward to a time when our fans can safely attend matches at BC Place once again.”

The Whitecaps are currently conducting training camp in Vancouver, with the intention of relocating to Utah in April. The team has 29 players currently signed for the 2021 season, including 24 returning players — the most since 2017 — and five new additions. Youth will be served, as 17 Whitecaps players are 23 years old or younger.

Canadian MLS teams to resume regular season on Aug. 18

Major League Soccer announced Thursday that its three Canadian clubs will return to play next week in their respective home markets.

The Montreal Impact, Toronto FC, and the Vancouver Whitecaps will play against one another three times each – for a total of six matches per club – as part of the league’s first phase of the regular-season restart.

The games will take place from Aug. 18 to Sept. 16.

The complete schedule for those games is as follows (home team listed first):

• Aug. 18: Toronto FC vs. Vancouver (8 p.m. ET)
• Aug. 21: Toronto FC vs. Vancouver (8 p.m. ET)
• Aug. 25: Montreal vs. Vancouver (8 p.m. ET)
• Aug. 28: Montreal vs. Toronto FC (8 p.m. ET)
• Sept. 1: Toronto FC vs. Montreal (8 p.m. ET)
• Sept. 5: Vancouver vs. Toronto FC (9:30 p.m. ET)
• Sept. 9: Montreal vs. Toronto FC (8 p.m. ET)
• Sept. 13: Vancouver vs. Montreal (9:30 p.m. ET)
• Sept. 16: Vancouver vs. Montreal (9:30 p.m. ET)

With the recent conclusion of the MLS is Back Tournament, the league outlined its plan for its 23 American teams to get back to action. The closure of the Canada-U.S. border for non-essential travel forced MLS to make alternate arrangements for Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver.

The league is still aiming for every team to play 23 regular-season matches, with the playoffs scheduled to start in late November.

Whitecaps nearing club-record deal for Lucas Cavallini

Lucas Cavallini is set to become a star name for the new-look Vancouver Whitecaps.

The Canadian international is close to leaving Puebla and joining 2019’s second-worst team in Major League Soccer for a club-record $6-million fee, according to ESPN’s Jeff Carlisle. Cavallini has agreed to a four-year contract with the Whitecaps.

Atlas are also interested in Cavallini but Puebla are reluctant to offload the forward to a rival team in Liga MX.

Cavallini, 26, was born in Toronto but has never played in his homeland. He progressed through the youth system at Nacional and represented three further clubs in Uruguay before moving to Puebla in 2017. He’s scored 11 goals in 17 appearances for Canada.

Vancouver finished bottom of the Western Conference last season while logging a paltry 37 goals across 34 regular-season matches. Fredy Montero, who is in his second stint with the Whitecaps, was the club’s top league scorer with eight tallies.

The Whitecaps’ failure to reach the MLS postseason in back-to-back years has prompted an overhaul at BC Place, with former Mainz and Schalke executive Axel Schuster appointed sporting director in November.

Whitecaps FC head coach Carl Robinson signs long-term contract extension

The disastrous 2016 season for the Vancouver Whitecaps only just ended, but the club is wasting no time in preparing for 2017 and beyond.

On Wednesday the announcement was made that head coach Carl Robinson, along with assistant coaches Martyn Pert and Gordon Forrest, have signed multi-year contract extensions with the club.

Popular goalkeeper coach Marius Røvde, however, will not be back next season as he is leaving the Whitecaps to pursue a new opportunity.

Robinson, who took over the head coaching role in 2014, is now under contract until 2020.

“Carl’s body of work over the course of his five years at the club has shown that he is one of the top up-and-coming head coaches in North America,” said Whitecaps FC president Bob Lenarduzzi in a press release. “While this past season was certainly a learning experience for everyone involved within the club, we have complete faith in Carl’s continued vision in acquiring the necessary players to build a team that will compete with the best in MLS.”

This past year was a complete turnaround from Robinson’s first two seasons in charge. In previous years the Whitecaps were playoff regulars and won a variety of trophies including two Cascadia Cups and their very first Voyageurs Cup in 2015.

This year the Whitecaps won just two matches after Canada Day, and missed the playoffs after finishing eighth in the Western Conference.

Robinson’s successes on the pitch are a reflection of his hard work off it. Since 2014 a number of top-notch players including all-star defender Kendall Waston and FIFA World Cup veteran Christian Bolaños have joined the Whitecaps. In addition, Robinson has promoted from within the club, giving MLS contracts to defender Brett Levis and prodigy Alphonso Davies.

With a extremely disappointing season now behind them, Robinson and the Whitecaps can now start preparing for next season.

Whitecaps raise over $34,000 for mental health

The Vancouver Whitecaps helped to raise $34,000 in support of Covenant House Vancouver, as part of their third annual #BuckUp for Mental Health campaign.

“Mental health is one of the most important causes that our club supports,” said Whitecaps FC president Bob Lenarduzzi in a team-released statement. “We would like to thank all of our fans, partners, players, coaches and staff who came together to raise funds for #BuckUp for Mental Health in support of Covenant House Vancouver. Together, we are making a difference in the lives of vulnerable members of our community and helping to end the stigma associated with mental illness.”

Donations were collected online, at the match versus Houston on May 28, and at the WFC2 match on May 29. All online donations were matched by former player and club ambassador YP Lee.

This year’s campaign beat last year by $13,000.

Vancouver Whitecaps acquire Masato Kudo out of Japanese J1 League

Free-agent Japanese striker Masato Kudo has joined the Vancouver Whitecaps on a free transfer out of J1 League side Kashiwa Reysol, the MLS outfit announced on Tuesday.

“Masato has a very good goal-scoring record and we are always looking at adding to the group,” said Whitecaps FC head coach Carl Robinson. “He has a natural ability to find space in the box, which generates goal-scoring opportunities.

“He is technically good with both feet and, as always required, he is a hard working player. Masato can play as a lone forward, or in a partnership, and is able to play wide when called upon. We are delighted to welcome him and his wife to our club and city.”

Kudo is the all-time leading goal scorer for Kashiwa Reysol, having netted 92 times in 260 appearances. He is also the fourth-highest scorer in the J1 League since 2012 and helped the club win the 2011 J1 League championship.

“I am thrilled to join Vancouver Whitecaps FC for the new season,” Kudo said. “I am hoping to score as many goals as possible and help lead the team to victory. I am also really looking forward to playing in front of the great supporters at BC Place.”

Kudo will be added to the Whitecaps’ roster pending receipt of his international transfer certificate and passing a medical exam. The club said he will be formally introduced in the new year.