Jesse Marsch: Vancouver Whitecaps were 'poisoned' before CONCACAF Champions Cup final vs. Cruz Azul

Canada men's national team manager Jesse Marsch has claimed the Vancouver Whitecaps were "poisoned" in Mexico ahead of their CONCACAF Champions Cup final defeat against Liga MX side Cruz Azul last Sunday. The Whitecaps lost the match 5-0, and Vancouver released a statement Thursday saying a "significant number of Whitecaps FC players and staff reported gastrointestinal symptoms" upon their return from Mexico.

As a precaution, the Canadian MLS side cancelled its Wednesday training and held a "modified individual closed session" for anyone available on Thursday ahead of their Cascadia clash with the Seattle Sounders on Sunday.

READ MORE:Marsch expects Canada to 'make history' and contend for Gold Cup win

Marsch named three Vancouver players in Samuel Adekugbe, Jayden Nelson, and Ali Ahmed to his Gold Cup roster and mentioned that they are all feeling better, but that their treatment in Mexico should not have been allowed.

“They’re better now,” Marsch said on Friday, according to Yahoo Canada. “They’re probably not ready for 90-minute performances (against Ukraine). But for me, it’s 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."

He added, “It’s ridiculous. Something has to be done to protect these environments.”

In the 2024 Champions Cup final, the Columbus Crew lost 3-0 to Pachuca, and upon their return to the United States, voiced a similar concern to Vancouver's this week.

“My players gave everything knowing that they were sick,” head coach Wilfried Nancy said following the match. “All the team had diarrhea since yesterday, the staff also.”

While Marsch doesn't have concrete details to confirm his comments, he pointed to back-to-back incidents as being no coincidence.

“I don't have any evidence, but It’s not random that two years in a row that this has happened...If I were the Vancouver Whitecaps, if I was the Columbus Crew, if I was MLS, I would be angry. I would be absolutely angry that this had been allowed to happen,” he said.

A former U.S. international, Marsch noted that he'd experienced Mexican fans attempting to give their team an advantage in previous trips, like pulling fire alarms or singing and dancing outside the team hotel, but nothing as potentially severe as this.

“And those are somewhat spirited, competitive advantages that are created when you go down to Mexico,” Marsch said. “But poisoning the team is another version.”

The Seattle Sounders are still the only MLS team to ever lift the Champions Cup, winning the trophy in 2022.

The Whitecaps play the Seattle Sounders on Sunday, while Canada battle it out against Ukraine in an international friendly on Saturday ahead of the Gold Cup.