American soccer manager Jesse Marsch has sparked more fury on home soil by proudly singing the Canadian national anthem ahead of their World Cup knockout clash with South Africa.
Marsch, who played for the US national team but now manages their neighbors north of the border, previously opened up a can of worms when he claimed he previously had to ‘beg’ players to sing the Star-Spangled Banner before matches.
Marsch was seemingly extremely keen to belt out ‘O Canada’ on Sunday afternoon in Los Angeles, though, linking arms with his fellow coaches to loudly sing.
On X, fans were less than impressed with the American, with one claiming: ‘What an absolutely fake patriot Jesse Marsch is. Let’s force him to live in our 51st state for the rest of his life. STOP SINGING THEIR ANTHEM. Get it done @marcorubio.’
Another added, ‘Jesse Marsch an American singing the Canadian national anthem is such performative nonsense,’ while a third wrote: ‘Jesse Marsch is such a f***ing traitor singing O’ Canada’.
Marsch, who is the first American in history to manage Canada’s men’s soccer team, previously held the role of assistant coach for the USA at the 2010 World Cup.
‘When I first came, I had to learn a lot about what it meant to be Canadian,’ he said. ‘Being a leader in this sport, I’ve always tried to create an environment where our differences make us stronger, not weaker.
‘From the moment I stepped into the environment with this team, I was impressed by how much they loved each other, how much they were drawn to each other and how much, even though there were differences, their back stories had similarities.
‘Every one of these boys is incredibly Canadian and the pride they have in putting on the jersey, representing the country and hearing the national anthem.
‘In the US sometimes we had to beg players to sing the national anthem. These guys [Canada stars] belt it out to the top of their lungs because they want to show the country how proud they are to be Canadians and to represent what Canada is.’
During his time as an assistant coach for the USA, Marsch worked with the likes of Landon Donovan, Tim Howard and Clint Dempsey at the World Cup in South Africa.
