Canada men’s national team manager Jesse Marsch believes that three players he called up from the Vancouver Whitecaps were poisoned in their trip to Mexico last weekend.
The Whitecaps traveled to Mexico City to take part in the CONCACAF Champions Cup final, losing 5-0 to Cruz Azul.
On Wednesday, the club cancelled a training session after a ‘significant number’ of players and staff members began suffering gastrointestinal issues.
In a statement (via The Athletic) the club said, ‘As a precautionary measure, and in consultation with the club’s medical team, as well as the local infectious disease consultant and Vancouver Coastal Health, the club cancelled training on Wednesday and held a modified individual closed session for cleared players today.’
Three Whitecaps players – Sam Adekugbe, Ali Ahmed, and Jayden Nelson – were called up the Canadian national team for the upcoming CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament.
Prior to a friendly tournament against Ukraine, Marsch spoke to reporters following an event with the Canada Ukraine Foundation to blast CONCACAF for its inaction and making accusations – admitting he had no proof.
Canada manager Jesse Marsch lobbied accusations the Vancouver Whitecaps were poisoned
Multiple Whitecaps players and staff fell ill after the CONCACAF Champions Cup final against Cruz Azul played in Mexico City last weekend, leading to a cancelled training on Wednesday
Canada callups (L-R) Sam Adekugbe, Ali Ahmed, and Jayden Nelson were among the ill
‘It’s, for me, appalling that this is the second year in a row that CONCACAF and the powers that be have allowed an MLS tea to go down to Mexico for a big final and get poisoned,’ Marsch said. ‘It’s ridiculous. Something has to be done to protect these environments.’
Last season, the Columbus Crew played in the final of the same tournament – traveling to Mexico to take on Pachuca. Pachuca won 3-0.
Following that game, Columbus manager Wilfried Nancy reported that multiple members of the first team and the coaching staff were suffering from food poisioning. General manager Tim Bezbatchenko suggested the team may be a victim of ‘subterfuge’.
The Whitecaps attempted to mitigate these circumstances from happening to them by hiring their own chef, however the issues occurred anyway.
Marsch continued, telling reporters: ‘Look, in the past when you would go down there, I remember being with the U.S. national team and club teams going down to Mexico, it was ‘will the fire alarm be pulled in the middle of the night? Will there be dancing and singing?’ And those are somewhat spirited, competitive advantages that are created when you go down to Mexico. But poisoning the team is another version.’
‘Look I don’t have any proof here that this (occurred) but it’s not random. It’s not random that two years in a row this has happened.
‘If I were the Vancouver Whitecaps, if I were the Columbus Crew, if I were MLS, I would be absolutely angry that this has been allowed to happen.
‘When all three of (Adekugbe, Ahmed, and Nelson) are sick, it’s clear. It wasn’t just ‘Ah, I don’t feel so great’. There was talk of whether it was an infectious virus but in the end, I don’t want to speak but I think the results are that it was food poisoning.’
A similar incident of alleged food poisoning happened in the 2024 edition of the CONCACAF Champions Cup final when Columbus Crew players fell ill after playing the game in Pachuca
Marsch admitted he had no evidence, but called on MLS and CONCACAF to do something
Adekugbe, Ahmed, and Nelson all participated in training sessions with the Canadian national team on Friday morning. However, Marsch says their recent ailments have led to him re-considering who starts against Ukraine on Saturday.
‘We weren’t planning to but when the Vancouver guys got poisoned, that changed the plan. They all feel good today, but they’re all different. They’re not at 100 percent like they would be,’ Marsch said.
‘You don’t run into two years in a final and a bout of MLS teams getting food poisoning for a final. I get it why (players) can’t say anything, they’re not sure, and I’m not sure either. But this is too much of a coincidence.’
After the fixture against Ukraine, Canada will play Cote d’Ivoire in another friendly on Tuesday evening.
From there, they travel to the west coast for the start of the Gold Cup – which has them in Group B.
They open the tournament against Honduras in Vancouver before traveling to Houston to face Curacao and El Salvador.
Under Marsch, Canada has continued its strong form in CONCACAF competitions. Earlier this year, Marsch’s men defeated the United States to finish third in the CONCACAF Nations League.
