Toronto FC Head Coach Ryan Nelsen had a bit of a go at Real Salt Lake on Tuesday, telling reporters at TFC’s media availability that he thinks that Claret-and-Cobalt forward Alvaro Saborio should be suspended for his challenge on LA’s A.J. DeLaGarza (video above) in Saturday’s 1-1 draw.
Nelsen’s the latest to hop in on the debate, which began on Saturday when LA’s Bruce Arena, Landon Donovan and Omar Gonzalez called for Saborio to be suspended in postgame comments after the RSL-LA match at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Nelsen commented on Saborio after fielding questions about TFC midfielder Jackson, who Nelsen predicted will likely get suspended for this elbow to DC’s Davy Arnaud.
“That could have broken his leg,” Nelsen said of Saborio’s challenge in a report by Sportsnet’s John Molinaro. “If Jackson gets suspended, you’d like to hope that a [player] who has nearly broken a guy’s leg is going to get suspended as well. You never know, though. I don’t make up the rules.”
Nelsen also commented on TFC’s early season schedule on Tuesday, calling it “probably the toughest start of any team in the whole of the league.”
Here’s Toronto’s start: at Seattle, v. DC, at RSL, at Columbus, v. Colorado, at Dallas.
Here’s RSL’s: at LA, at San Jose, v. LA, v. Toronto, at Kansas City, at Philadelphia.
And, just for good measure, here’s Colorado’s: at New York, v. Portland, v. Kansas City, at Vancouver, at Toronto, v. San Jose.
We’ll let you be the judge.
