To clear up any confusion, the 'FC' in Toronto FC stands for 'football club.' Not 'fouls committed.'
Toronto has been called for 143 fouls after last weekend's games, just one behind FC Dallas for the MLS lead. Dallas, however, has played nine games to Toronto's seven, and no club has a greater disparity in fouls committed to fouls suffered than Toronto's 45 (143 to 98).
TFC suffered for its physical play in last Saturday's 2-1 loss to D.C. United. Defender Marvell Wynne was called for a foul on United striker Luciano Emilio in the penalty area that led to Jaime Moreno converting a penalty kick for the game-winning goal. The foul was one of 20 accrued by Toronto in a chippy game that also saw 18 fouls called on United and a total of six yellow cards awarded --- four to Toronto, and two to D.C.
Toronto coach Mo Johnston is troubled by his team's accumulation of fouls, but he feels his club often stays on the fair side of the line between hard play and dirty play.
"Do I see things differently than the referees? Of course I do," Johnston said. "So do our fans. You can see the reaction of the fans when they look up at the [scoreboard video screen] and see the replay of some of the penalties. We've picked up a ... lot of yellow cards and fouls. I find it surprising."
Toronto FC's 19 cautions this season are second only to Dallas' 21 among MLS clubs. TFC forward Danny Dichio is one of six MLS players to receive a red card this season, in Toronto's 3-1 win against Chicago on May 12.
In Dichio's view, referees are affected by the environment at BMO Field, where the fans' enthusiasm is already reaching legendary status around the league.
"The refs are aware of the kind of atmosphere we're creating here off the pitch and they think the players are getting wound up," Dichio said. "On Saturday, there was a lot of silly bookings that I don't think were yellow cards for both teams. I think maybe the refs need to take a step back and say this is a bustling atmosphere here, and the boys are getting worked up. We're not giving serious fouls away, it's a man's game and we've just got to get on with it."
The statistics seem to point to BMO Field as part of the cause. TFC average 24.5 fouls per game at home, compared to just 15 per game on the road.
Wynne, who received the costly foul on Saturday, said that this reputation is not all bad, as TFC wants to create a tough venue for visiting clubs.
"If they know we're going to come out and fight, then try to stop us," Wynne said. "We're not going to let teams and players come here try to play around us or anything. We have a lot of pride on our team so if we think the opponent has fouled one of our players, maybe that player that got fouled isn't going to get him back, but someone else on the team might give him a little something back.
"We're not coming out here just to go through the motions," Wynne added.
This type of attitude may seem right at home in Toronto, where Hall of Fame hockey coach Conn Smythe's credo of "If you can't beat 'em in the alley, you can't beat 'em on the ice," fueled the NHL's Maple Leafs for decades.
But Dichio, who is in his first MLS season after playing 15 years in England's Football League and the Italian Serie A, said his team's style of play -- and the general play in MLS -- wouldn't be out of place in Europe.
"It's very quick, very physical," Dichio said. "It's kind of similar to the game back home in the [Coca-Cola] Championship League. I think the surprise has been how technical the play is and how very skilled the players are over here."
Dichio also said that Johnston hasn't warned his team about the number of fouls.
"Mo hasn't told us to keep off the pedal or anything," Dichio said. "He's quite for us going out and playing the way we are. It's a physical game, so as long as we're keeping it in the rules, that's what we've got to do."
Mark Polishuk is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
