Inter Miami head coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino didn’t feel like he needed to apologize for his stars’ absence at Vancouver, but he did so anyway.
Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, and Sergio Busquets all didn’t make the trip to for Inter Miami’s game against the Whitecaps on Saturday, disappointing fans who thought they’d get a glimpse of the star trio.
A record crowd of 51,035 showed up at BC Place, as the Herons still managed a 2-1 road victory through goals from Robert Taylor and Leo Campana.
Prior to the game, the Whitecaps issued an extraordinary statement confirming the star trio’s absence themselves, rather than taking the traditional path of waiting for Inter Miami to announce the decision.
“Unfortunately, we have no control over who plays for our opponent, and it was important for us to communicate to our fans as soon as possible,“ Whitecaps CEO Axel Schuster said in the statement.
Martino said he understood the disappointment of fans — many of whom paid exorbitant ticket prices on the secondary market — but emphasized that his priority was protecting his players.
“Obviously [the win] is very important for us because of the absences we had,” Martino said in his post-game press conference.
“The expectation that people have. I really don’t think I have to apologize, but in some ways we are very sorry for not being able to travel with our stars. There is a question, we have or have come without our great players. Leo, Luis, Busi, Diego Gómez and still we have competed very well.”
Inter Miami is back in action on Wednesday when it faces Atlanta United at home. All of the team’s stars are expected to be available.
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