TORONTO – On a day where Toronto FC welcomed back Jermain Defoe, the team’s midfield general, Michael Bradley, addressed the fine issued by the MLS Disciplinary Committee for comments regarding referee David Gantar in Toronto FC’s 1-1 draw Sept. 13 with the Chicago Fire.
"I expected to be fined, and I deserve to be fined,” Bradley told reporters at training Wednesday. “There are rules in place in terms of what players and coaches can say, what they can’t say, the way they can talk about games, the way they can’t talk about games. It was expected. I think it was the right decision on their part.”
Gantar waived off a Gilberto goal at the death, denying Toronto FC a late winner after Dwayne De Rosario clawed back with an equalizer late in the game. Bradley said Gantar was not “good enough” and added that some referees “ruin games” because they are “in over their heads.”
The amount of the fine, issued 10 days after the fact, was not disclosed. League commissioner Don Garber sympathized with Toronto FC during the league’s logo reveal earlier in the month, saying he believed the goal should have stood. Bradley said he expected the fine due to the planned nature of those comments.
"I think it’s important for everyone to understand that I said what I said after the game in Chicago because it’s what I felt,” Bradley said. “It wasn’t an emotional reaction. It was all very calculated, and I had plenty of time to think through what I wanted to say and how I wanted it to come across.
"As a leader at times there’s a need to say things, and I felt that was an important time to stand up for the team,” Bradley added. “Having said that, you can’t do that every week. You come across as a whiner, you come across as a complainer, and it doesn’t set a good tone.”
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In saying so, Bradley and the rest of his team have made it very clear it’s all in the past. With six games left in the season, Toronto FC are solely focused on Saturday’s encounter with the Portland Timbers at BMO Field (1 pm ET, MLS Stream of the Week).
"I said my piece,” Bradley said. “I said it because it’s what I felt at that time. You have to move on, and there’s no time to dwell on missed calls for games that already are over.
“We’re at a point in the season where every play can make a difference so all of our energy has to be on what’s coming.”
