FC Cincinnati suspends journalist for crime of doing journalism

The MLS club seems to have banned a reporter for not toeing the company line

With the specious claim that it was forced into the move, FC Cincinnati decided to make its feud with journalist Laurel Pfahler public on Thursday night.

Pfahler, who runs the independent website Queen City Press, said last week that the club revoked her credential for two weeks, but declined to elaborate on the reason.

Now, we do know why the MLS club decided to suspend a member of the press who, by all accounts, is entirely well respected and ethical in her conduct.

In short, Pfahler was suspended for not toeing the company line.

That is the only conclusion that can be drawn from two competing statements that came out on Thursday — one from the club and one from Pfahler.

The statement from FCC was full of insidious-sounding allegations, but light on any actual detail.

“We had no intention of making this story public,” the club said, before doing exactly that.

“However, since Laurel Pfahler has driven public attention to the matter, we have no choice but to provide answers to the many questions our fans are asking,” it added, before providing no actual answers.

“Laurel has failed to act in accordance with the standards and practices of the Society of Professional Journalists and the MLS Notice of Credentials Use Conditions,” it continued.

As Awful Announcing pointed out, that first thing doesn’t even exist.

“She refuses to accept responsibility for her actions, despite multiple conversations and attempts at working together to forge a productive relationship between her and the club. Out of professional decorum, we will not be sharing the details publicly.”

This is a situation that should have been handled behind closed doors. With the MLS club declining to take that very logical decision, it is very much not “professional decorum” to publicly accuse a reporter of violating their ethical duties without providing any other details.

Thankfully, Pfahler ended her policy of silence around the situation in a statement of her own.

“I will not stand for bullying but for now this is my lone response to FC Cincinnati’s statement of attack on me in response to others standing up for me,” she said on X.

“I strongly disagree with the statement that I violated any journalism ethics or MLS Credential guidelines. Last week, when I asked for examples as to why I had lost credentials, I was told three situations where I spoke to sources outside of the facility or team approved interviews. I do not believe simply talking with sources within the team is how to cover a professional franchise. I believe the fans deserve more.”

Basically, what Pfahler claims she is accused of is doing journalism.

This, crucially, is not the first time FC Cincinnati has allegedly acted this way toward the media. It seems that the club hasn’t yet recognized the value of independent media coverage, which is baffling from a franchise that quite recently finished dead last in MLS for three seasons in a row.

Pfahler was there for those lean years, giving the club consistent coverage during a time when many others wouldn’t. Even now, when FC Cincy is one of the best teams in MLS, there are no more than a handful of reporters who cover the team on a consistent basis.

FC Cincinnati has chosen to alienate one of those and the fans who follow her, making itself look very small in the process.

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FC Cincinnati coach Noonan: Supporters’ Shield more relevant than MLS Cup

Noonan’s side clinched the Shield with a win at Toronto FC on Saturday

FC Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan has said he believes the Supporters’ Shield is now more relevant than MLS Cup.

Noonan’s side clinched the Supporters’ Shield on Saturday with a 3-2 win over Toronto FC, completing an incredible turnaround that saw the team finish dead last in MLS for three straight seasons (2019-21).

The Shield is awarded to the team with the best regular-season record, which is, of course, how the majority of leagues worldwide crown their overall champion.

In MLS though, winning the Shield is merely a guarantee of homefield advantage throughout the playoffs and MLS Cup.

In a league where 18 of 29 teams currently reach the postseason, Noonan said on Monday that he felt winning the Shield represented something even bigger than taking home MLS Cup — though he stressed his side’s desire to do both.

“It’s a big achievement, and maybe that conversation is different years back but for me, it’s the consistency of a team over the course of a season,” Noonan told reporters in quotes published on the Cincinnati Enquirer.

“For me, now, and even my own opinion of it has changed: I think it has now surpassed MLS Cup in terms of relevance. That’s not to take away from the desire of our team to hold an MLS Cup but for that team to be the top team over the course of the season, I think, is very meaningful. The hope is that we can find a way to achieve both.”

Noonan’s side will now look to match Los Angeles FC, which won a Shield-MLS Cup double last year, becoming the eighth team to achieve the feat.

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Messi, Inter Miami return from the dead to down FC Cincinnati in US Open Cup semifinal

Messi might actually be unstoppable

The best team in MLS, who enter the game unbeaten at home, take a 2-0 lead. For anyone else, that’s a lost cause. Wrap it up, go home, save your legs for another day.

For Lionel Messi and Inter Miami? It’s all just stage dressing for a stunning drama.

Messi produced two surgically precise assists, one of which came eight minutes into second-half stoppage time, to spark a wild comeback that saw the Herons advance to the U.S. Open Cup final on penalties following a 3-3 draw with FC Cincinnati.

Miami will host the Houston Dynamo, 3-1 winners over Real Salt Lake in the night’s other semifinal, in September 27’s final.

If anyone ever manages to actually beat this post-Messi Miami side, luck will have to be on their side. It was certainly in Cincinnati’s favor as they took an 18th minute lead on an absolutely bizarre sequence.

A misplaced Luciano Acosta pass pinballed off of multiple Miami players, looping up for Aaron Boupendza to flick it on. Cincinnati’s Argentine No. 10, with some help from an yet another extremely generous bounce off of Kamal Miller, saw his shot kiss the post and trickle just over the line.

Boupendza thought he’d doubled the lead just two minutes later after chasing down Ian Murphy’s long ball and lobbing Drake Callender, but the goal was chalked off as the Gabon striker was two strides offside.

For Miami, it was the team’s first deficit with Messi as a starter, and Gerardo “Tata” Martino’s halftime changes were undone by a second goal seven minutes into the second half. This time, it was clinical counter-attacking work, with Brandon Vazquez finishing off a raid forward with a powerful low strike.

Messi was getting very little in terms of options or time, but as he has shown the entire world for nearly two decades, all it takes is one touch.

Miami won a set piece out on the left, and despite Cincinnati having a marked size advantage inside the box, the Argentina legend’s driven delivery couldn’t have been more perfect for Leo Campana.

Cincinnati seemed to have an ideal response, but as substitute Yuya Kubo wheeled away celebrating a point-blank finish following a set piece, the bad news arrived: Kubo had handled the ball before finishing, and Miami stayed afloat.

Martino was at this point throwing the kitchen sink at Cincinnati. Josef Martínez and U-22 Initiative playmaker Facundo Farías came in alongside Messi, and Messi’s new bestie Robert Taylor was deployed as an unorthodox right back.

On this night, though, it just wasn’t happening. In fact, Cincinnati goalkeeper Alec Kann didn’t even have much work outside of headers from Messi set piece deliveries.

And yet, even if you scrolled immediately to this line of the article, you already know what’s coming.

With just seconds left in the eight minutes of stoppage time given by referee Joe Dickerson, Messi found himself left of center. For any other player, it’s a prayer of a ball to the back post. For Messi, it was as easy as handing the ball to Campana from a foot away, and the No. 9 once again just had to guide the ball past Kann.

TQL Stadium was stunned, and Cincinnati was in trouble. Head coach Pat Noonan had pulled Acosta, Vazquez, and Boupendza while protecting what seemed like a secure lead.

Meanwhile Miami still had Messi, but didn’t even need him to complete a stunning takeover of the game. Homegrown midfielder Benjamin Cremaschi delivered the goods instead, playing a pass Messi would be proud of to set Martínez up for an ice-cold finish.

Santiago Arias cracked a shot off the bar for Cincinnati, but the luck the home side had early on had by now vanished.

The script said it was all over for Cincinnati without their star attackers, but Yuya Kubo — a former Designated Player attacker who has become over the last two seasons a Swiss Army Knife off the bench — somehow squeezed an equalizer home in the 114th minute.

Both sides exchanged four flawless rounds of penalty kicks, including a casual take from Messi. However, in round five Cincinnati blinked, with Nick Hagglund’s poor spot kick saved by Callender.

Cremaschi did the honors once again, driving his effort home to put Miami in a second final since the club went out and signed the best player to ever kick a ball.

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How to watch Inter Miami vs. FC Cincinnati: Messi starts hunt for second title

Just a month after his arrival, Messi is already close to a second trophy in North America

Just days after winning his first trophy with Inter Miami, Lionel Messi is already just two wins away from a second.

Messi, who helped Inter Miami win the Leagues Cup via a penalty shootout victory over Nashville SC in Saturday’s final, now moves onto another cup competition. FC Cincinnati awaits Inter Miami on Wednesday in the U.S. Open Cup semifinal.

Messi, along with ex-Barcelona teammates Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets, will jump into Open Cup play after Inter Miami reached the last four prior to the trio’s arrival.

In FC Cincinnati, Inter Miami will face a strong, but wounded opponent.

[afflinkbutton text=”Watch FC Cincinnati vs. Inter Miami on Paramount+” link=”https://paramountplus.qflm.net/nLoJER”]

FC Cincinnati has the best record in MLS, but their return to league play over the weekend did not go to plan.

The Columbus Crew are no slouch, but thrashing their “Hell Is Real” derby rivals 3-0 was not expected on Sunday. Not to mention, the Orange and Blue were knocked out by Nashville SC in the Leagues Cup round of 32 prior to that.

A betting man would guess FC Cincinnati regroups and brings a better game against Inter Miami. But enough to hand Messi & Co. their first defeat? That may be a hard wager to place.

Here is everything you need to know to catch all the action:

Inter Miami vs. FC Cincinnati (U.S. Open Cup)

  • When: Wednesday, August 23
  • Where: TQL Stadium (Cincinnati)
  • Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
  • Channel/streaming: Paramount+

Leagues Cup Starting Lineups

Inter Miami possible lineup:
Callender, Yedlin, Miller, Kryvtsov, Alba, Arroyo, Busquets, Cremaschi, Messi, Martinez, Taylor

FC Cincinnati possible lineup:
Celentano, Gaddis, Miazga, Hagglund, Arias, Moreno, Nwobodo, Powell, Acosta, Vazquez, Boupendza

[afflinkbutton text=”Watch Messi and Inter Miami on Paramount+” link=”https://paramountplus.qflm.net/nLoJER”]

Martino: Messi will rest eventually, but not in Open Cup semifinal

The Inter Miami star has played the full 90 in five consecutive matches

Lionel Messi has been playing a lot of soccer recently.

By virtue of his incredible Leagues Cup success, Messi has now played seven games within his first month with Inter Miami. He has started all but one of those games, and has gone the full 90 in his past five.

The most recent of those outings came in Saturday’s Leagues Cup final against Nashville SC. Like every other game he’s played for the Herons so far, Messi scored and his team won.

After lifting the Leagues Cup, Inter Miami will now have the chance to clinch a double with just two more victories in the U.S. Open Cup. On Wednesday, Messi and Co. will travel to Ohio to face FC Cincinnati in the semifinal.

Speaking to the media on Monday, Inter Miami head coach Tata Martino said that he would have to rest the 36-year-old Messi at some point, but with another trophy on the line, Wednesday won’t be the time to do so.

“We said that at some point he would have to rest because of the load of minutes played,” Martino said. “Clearly, Wednesday is not going to be that day. If he does not tell me he wants to rest, he will continue to play.”

The winner the Inter Miami-Cincinnati semifinal will face either Real Salt Lake or Houston in the final on September 27.

Messi, who has now scored 10 goals in seven games with Inter Miami, has yet to play in any competition outside of the Leagues Cup. After he makes his Open Cup debut on Wednesday, he is set to play in his first MLS match on Saturday when Inter Miami faces the New York Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena.

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F.C. Cincinnati vs. Columbus Crew, how to watch, live stream, channel, time, lineups

How to watch the ‘Hell Is Real’ clash between FC Cincinnati and Columbus #AllForCincy #Crew96

The battle for Ohio is coming to Major League Soccer on Saturday.

The upcoming leg of the “Hell Is Real” derby between F.C. Cincinnati and Columbus Crew will feature two of the top teams in the Eastern Conference facing off–But this time the tables are turned.

During MLS play, Columbus has won five of the 10 meetings. Only one derby contest has been won by Cincinnati in addition to their lone U.S. Open Cup clash.

[afflinkbutton text=”Watch Cincinnati vs Columbus” link=”https://apple.co/3ogo72K”]

But in 2023, Cincy is the favorite. Cincinnati is pacing the Eastern Conference, holding down first-place having won seven-straight outings at home. Meanwhile, Columbus enters the weekend in fifth place, nine points behind Cincy.

However, the Crew will carry some momentum down to the Ohio River basin. Columbus snapped a four-game losing skid on Wednesday against L.A. Galaxy in 2-0 fashion. Is the Crew back on track enough to knock off their rival?

Ahead of the pivotal matchup for both teams, here is everything you need to know to stream the action:

F.C. Cincinnati vs. Columbus Crew

  • When: Saturday, May 19
  • Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
  • Location: TQL Stadium (Cincinnati)
  • Watch: Apple TV

Major League Soccer Starting Lineups

F.C. Cincinnati possible starting lineup:

Celentano; Hagglund, Miazga, Murphy; Gaddis, Nwobodo, Kubo, Moreno; Acosta; Badji, Vazquez

Columbus possible starting lineup:
Schulte; Moreira, Quinton, Vallecilla; Farsi, Morris, Nagbe, Amundsen; Ramirez, Cucho, Zelarayan

[afflinkbutton text=”Watch Cincinnati vs Columbus” link=”https://apple.co/3ogo72K”]

Major League Soccer Odds and betting lines

MLS odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook. Odds were last updated Friday at 6:00 p.m. ET.

F.C. Cincinnati (-115) vs. Columbus Crew (+260)

Draw: (+260)

[afflinkbutton text=”Watch every MLS game on Apple TV” link=”https://apple.co/3Bkh8su”]

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Ex-USMNT stars Brek Shea and Geoff Cameron announce retirement

The former USMNT and Stoke City teammates are starting a business together

Former U.S. men’s national team stars Brek Shea and Geoff Cameron have both announced their retirement after 15-year professional careers.

The duo made the announcement in an interview with ESPN, saying that they will be starting a new business together.

Shea, 33, began his career with FC Dallas before making the move to Stoke City, where he and Cameron were teammates for a short while. When his England move didn’t work out, Shea returned to MLS where he spent time with Orlando City, Vancouver, Atlanta and Inter Miami.

The left-sided player earned 34 caps for the USMNT, scoring the winning goal in the 2013 Gold Cup final.

(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Cameron, 37, also joined MLS in 2008 after he was drafted by the Houston Dynamo. After impressing with Houston the defender moved to Stoke City, where he became a fixture for the Potters over six Premier League seasons with the club.

The defender would then spend three seasons in the Championship with QPR before finishing his career with FC Cincinnati in 2021 and 2022.

“We’ve kind of had a long journey, and our journey has gone on two different paths,” Cameron said of himself and Shea. “We’ve started near each other, and then ended up at Stoke with each other, and he ended up living with me and we have a really good friendship and relationship. We live close to each other now and we’re building something pretty unique.”

Cameron earned 55 caps for the USMNT, starting three of the team’s four games at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

“It was my dream as a kid, just like Brek’s, and playing soccer in the backyard and dreaming of representing your country and playing in the best league in the world,” Cameron said.

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FC Cincinnati strikes $10 million deal with Udinese for Brenner transfer

The Brazilian exploded for 18 goals and six assists in 2022

FC Cincinnati has agreed to a club-record deal to sell striker Brenner to Serie A side Udinese.

Brenner has signed a contract with the Italian club through 2028.

The Athletic reports Cincinnati will receive an initial fee of $10 million, plus performance-based add-ons as well as a percentage of any future sale.

Brenner, 23, will remain with Cincinnati until July, with the club saying his final game will be on July 1 against the New England Revolution at TQL Stadium.

“We’re extremely happy for Brenner that he’s able to make this move and play in one of the biggest leagues in Europe,” FC Cincinnati general manager Chris Albright said in a club statement.

“Our ultimate goal at FC Cincinnati is to win games for our incredible fans, and we understand that developing players is central to attracting the best talent. This is a significant transfer for our club and is a testament to everything our staff has done in the past year and a half. Our ownership will continue to give us the resources to compete and this transfer only adds to that commitment.”

Cincinnati signed Brenner in 2021 from São Paulo FC for a fee of $13 million, a significant investment for the franchise ahead of its third MLS season.

The Brazilian finished his first season in the league with eight goals and then exploded for 18 goals and six assists in 2022, getting himself on the radar of several teams in Europe.

With six games left, Udinese currently sits in ninth place in the Serie A table.

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Vazquez: I’ve already decided to play for USMNT over Mexico

The USMNT striker sounds like a player who has his mind made up

Brandon Vazquez has said he’s “already made” the decision to play for the U.S. men’s national team over Mexico.

Vazquez was born in California but has dual citizenship and is also eligible for Mexico, which the USMNT will face in a friendly on Wednesday night in Glendale, Arizona.

Ahead of the game, Vazquez spoke to the media on Monday and said even after Diego Cocca took over El Tri in February, he’s heard nothing from the Mexican federation.

“I’ve heard absolutely nothing from them,” Vazquez said, repeating his answer from last summer when El Tri was coached by Tata Martino.

“Right now my mind is just on playing with the U.S. and creating a good relationship with the players around me and just winning myself a position here.”

Though Vazquez will still be eligible to play for Mexico after Wednesday’s game, which is not part of any official competition, the striker had the sound of a player with his international future already decided.

“I believe the decision is already made,” Vazquez said.

“I grew up playing with the U.S. youth national team and for me, the decision was where I feel I would fit best and where I think I would perform at my best and for me, that’s the United States,” he continued.

“I grew up with a lot of the players around here and I feel like my chemistry with the players around me fits best here, and I think I can perform my best with this group.”

The FC Cincinnati striker has become one of the best forwards in MLS in the past year, scoring 18 goals and adding eight assists last season.

Vazquez marked his USMNT debut in January with a goal against Serbia.

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Back with USMNT, Miazga laments being ‘screwed over in the past’

The FC Cincinnati defender received his first call-up in nearly two years on Wednesday

Matt Miazga was named to the U.S. men’s national team roster on Wednesday, his first call-up in nearly two years.

In the FC Cincinnati defender’s opinion, it never should have taken that long.

After his call-up, Miazga aired out his belief that he was deserving of a USMNT spot multiple times in the past, but ended up being “screwed over” by the coaching staff.

“I told you guys last time, I was screwed over multiple times in the past,” he told the Cincinnati Enquirer. “Yeah, I think it is what it is. I always felt like I should be a part of that group throughout my career, especially the last few years. And now that I’m back in this capacity, the state that we’re in with an interim manager, I’m grateful to be able to show face again and try to stamp my ground again.”

Miazga said last fall that he and former coach Gregg Berhalter “didn’t see eye to eye on a few things” in the past, which he believes prevented him from earning more caps.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, interim USMNT coach Anthony Hudson said that Miazga’s move to MLS last year has given him some much-needed stability after several loans across Europe during his time on Chelsea’s books.

“I think Matt coming over here has given him the opportunity to get consistency and to get games,” Hudson said. “He’s done well. He’s now an experienced player.

“I think he’s always been knocking on the door, right on the edge of coming in. And I think he deserves his chance to come in and be involved in this game.”

The USMNT will face Mexico on Wednesday in the inaugural Allstate Continental Clásico.

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