Ahead of the upcoming CONCACAF third- and fourth-place finals on July 14, Beijing time, Canadian head coach John Mahee rhetorically criticized the organization of CONCACAF at a conference and expressed his dissatisfaction with the unfair treatment his team has suffered during the tournament.
Noting that the Canadian team was "treated like second-class citizens" at CONCACAF, Mahy stated bluntly that "the tournament was unprofessional and there were too many holes in the game." He singled out a post-game brawl between Uruguayan players and Colombian fans, as well as Uruguayan head coach Bielsa's call for the incident to highlight serious problems in the game. Meanwhile, Mahy also mentioned the racial discrimination suffered by Canadian players during the group stage, arguing that these incidents are indicative of the tournament's poor organization.
Mahy also expressed strong dissatisfaction with the referee's calls. He particularly mentioned the situation in the semi-final where Canadian player Alfonso Davies was injured due to a heavy shoveling by the opponent, but the referee did not make any call. According to Mahy, if this kind of shoveling had happened to a big name player of a South American team, the referee would have called the penalty in a very different way. He emphasized that the referee's first priority is to protect the safety of the players, but in this match, the referee clearly failed to do so.
Additionally, Mahy addressed recent rumors that he would be leaving Team Canada to become the head coach of Team USA. He made it clear that "I'm not leaving the position and I have no interest in the Team USA job." He emphasized his love for Canada and his satisfaction with the team and said that unless there are major changes in the organization, he will not have any interest in the Team USA coaching position.
Speaking about the upcoming third and fourth place finals, Mahy said that despite the many disadvantages the team will face, they will do their best to show the spirit of the Canadians. He urged the fans to continue to support the team and believe that they can do well in the tournament.
