A denied penalty was the spark point for Canadian coach Jesse Marsch, as he chose to confront the referee instead of heading into the tunnel at halftime. Ultimately, Marsch was on the right side of the result as Canada scored a 92nd-minute winning goal to punch their ticket to a historic spot in the round of 16 at the FIFA World Cup. But after the game, when discussing Marsch’s theatrics, a few former pros believed he was setting a bad precedent.

Canada’s Richie Laryea was brought down in the box after a Khuliso Mudau challenge in the 45th minute, but referee Joao Pinheiro waved away the appeal, and VAR did not overturn the call because Mudau appeared to get a touch on the ball first. Marsch tried to confront the referee at halftime, but Moise Bombito redirected him toward the tunnel, and Troy Deeney and Marcelo Balboa later criticized the coach’s reaction on CBS Sports Golazo.

“I know Jesse is very intentional, very deliberate in what he wants to do,” Deeney said. “If the players have to calm him down, that’s not a good sign. You need your manager to be calmer and be smoother in these situations. When your manager’s feeling aggrieved, it does leave an area for players to go, okay, he feels like that, and that’s how we could act.”

“I’m not a big fan of marching over to the referee,” Balboa stated that the coach’s outburst wouldn’t have resulted in anything. “What are you gonna say to the referee? Is the referee really gonna say my bad, and I’ll give your call? It’s not gonna happen.”

The denied penalty did not matter in the end as Canada ultimately triumphed in the game. But it was not without much drama. They saw an effort cleared off the line just before the alleged penalty incident. Despite multiple chances in the second half, there was no separation as extra time looked inevitable at the first knockout fixture of the World Cup.

Stephen Eustaquio got on the end of a half-cleared cross and chested the loose ball before volleying one into the bottom corner to make it 1-0. It sparked massive celebrations as Canada qualified for the round of 16 for the first time in its history.

Marsch will likely get away from any sanctions thanks to Bombito’s interventions. But the supposedly controversial call only adds to the list of growing referee decisions at the World Cup.

Jesse Marsch slaps back at performative remarks

Marsch was delighted after the late winner, as he kissed his badge and waved his hands to the traveling Canadian supporters at Los Angeles. He even had a heartwarming team huddle and was heard addressing his players for their iconic achievement.

The cameras picked him up referring to the players as “Canadian heroes” and crediting them for the growth of the sport in the country. When asked whether those huddles and speeches were just for optics, Marsch snapped at the post-match press conference.

“Look, people like to say it’s performative to meet on the pitch,” Marsch said. “I don’t give a s*** what people have to say. All I care about is our own team and what we do together.”

The manager has a history of making passionate huddles with his team. His locker room speech at Anfield went viral following an epic comeback from his RB Salzburg team. They were trailing 3-0 at halftime before Marsch issued a rallying call in a mix of English and German. The Austrian team made it 3-3 against Liverpool at the hostile Anfield before eventually losing 4-3. He always wears his heart on his sleeve, with multiple similar incidents like this.

He will be hoping for a calmer round of 16, as Canada is set to meet the winner of the Netherlands-Morocco clash at the FIFA World Cup.