Toronto FC coach wants NYCFC star David Villa suspended for kicking out at player

TORONTO — One of Major League Soccer’s biggest stars finds himself under a disciplinary microscope this week.

New York City FC captain David Villa, a leading candidate for league MVP, escaped punishment Sunday night after tangling with Toronto FC midfielder Armando Cooper in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinal.

After Villa delivered a backheel pass in the 20th minute, he ran into Cooper and appeared to kick the Panamanian in the back of the leg. Cooper, no stranger to going down at the slightest touch, hit the ground — further drawing the ire of Villa who berated him.

Referee Silviu Petrescu did not punish either player although Cooper was booked three minutes later for bodying Villa as they contested a ball. 

Villa may not escape punishment. The MLS Disciplinary Committee can sanction retroactively, as it did in September when it suspended Cooper one game and fined him an undisclosed amount for violent conduct for a sly kick at Felipe as the Red Bulls’ Brazilian midfielder lay on the ground after being fouled in the 90th minute of a 3-3- tie.

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After expressing his respect for Villa’s talent, Toronto coach Greg Vanney made it clear that the Spaniard should be sanctioned ahead of the return leg at Yankee Stadium next Sunday.

“I think there are instances in a game that regardless of who you are, when you make choices like that where a player’s defenceless and you take a whack at him from behind, on any other day in any other league, I think that player sees a suspension,” said Vanney.

“It will be up to our review panel and committee to make a decision, it’s not my call. But for me it was pretty blatant. I saw it from the second it happened, I’ve seen a replay of it again. It’s just not something that is acceptable really in the league.

“But whatever happens, happens. If he’s on the field, we play. If he’s not on the field, we play.”

In the locker-room afterwards, one TFC player said he was not sure the league would suspend the New York star. 

NYCFC coach Patrick Vieira said diplomatically that he needed to see a replay before commenting. But he did suggest Petrescu had been “quite a little bit harsh” on his team and had been perhaps influenced by Toronto’s vocal crowd.

“I think the occasion had an impact on some the referee’s decisions,” said Vieira.

NYCFC had five players cautioned to Toronto’s one.

A frustrated Villa, who had just 30 touches on the night, was subbed in the 78th minute

Toronto won the match 2-0.

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Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press