MONTREAL – The Montreal Impact will try to win the biggest game in franchise history without the help of their starting goalkeeper.
Due to an accumulation of yellow cards, Montreal’s Evan Bush will not play in the second leg of the CONCACAF Champions League final against Mexico’s Club America on Wednesday. The Impact appealed the suspension after the team’s first leg in Mexico City last week — a 1-1 draw — but CONCACAF rejected it Monday.
"He’s obviously disappointed and upset, which is normal," technical director Adam Braz said of the 29-year-old Bush. "But he’s a mature young man and understands that in the end the referee made a decision. He’s going to be extremely positive in the next two days as a leader of the group and be vocal and supportive."
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CONCACAF told Braz and the Impact that a referee’s on-field decision cannot be overturned unless the card had been shown to the wrong player. Since referee Hector Rodriguez intended to give Bush the yellow card, the decision could not be overruled.
"The team was expecting this decision," said Braz. "When you appeal a decision like that, most of the time nothing will change. At the end of the day, it was clear that the referee had a poor performance and failed to make a massive call in the game.
"It happens and you move on. We can’t look backwards, we can only look forward."
