Football
ESPN staff 8y

NYCFC's Patrick Vieira slams NYRB's Jesse Marsch for influencing referee

New York City FC coach Patrick Vieira, whose team lost 4-1 to the New York Red Bulls on Sunday, was unhappy with counterpart Jesse Marsch's influence on the referee during the heated derby.

The Red Bulls stormed to a three-goal lead through goals from Bradley Wright-Phillips, Ronald Zubar and a penalty from Sacha Kljestan, before Thomas McNamara pulled one back two minutes before the break. Wright-Phillips added a fourth on 70 minutes while City's Norris Ethan White was sent off in the 89th minute.

The result left Vieira fuming, especially after Marsch publicly questioned the unfair treatment toward his opponents' star trio of Andrea Pirlo, Frank Lampard and David Villa. He was fined by MLS commissioner Don Garber for his remarks.

"I think today [referee Mark Geiger] made more decisions in favor of the Red Bulls because the manager has been crying all the week," Vieira said after the game.

"At the end, [Marsch] got what he wanted. ... It didn't just happen like that. This is a plan, this is a way I think [Marsch] wanted to go for. He got fined for it, which means he did something wrong.

"You can accept it or not, but that had an impact on the referee's decisions. It's as simple as that."

The Frenchman's frustrations saw him sent from the touchline early in the first half for leaving his technical area to confront Geiger, and his unhappiness continued after the game when he exchanged a few words with Marsch in the tunnel, while refusing to shake his hand.

"We have the full respect of the referee. We do understand that sometimes decisions are difficult to make from the referee," Vieira said. "One day, it's for us and one day it's against us. We understand it and we respect it. Some people don't and they prefer to cry openly. ... It worked for them this time."

Vieira went on to suggest that the tension between the coaches was all part of the game, but not before taking another swipe at Marsch.

"We are completely different as a person and as a character," Vieira said. "This is part of the derby. He wants to win. I want to win. Sometimes there's tension. I think there are two different clubs acting in different ways. This is part of the derby."

Marsh was full of praise for referee Geiger and lauded his team for playing some of the best football he's seen this year.

"I thought Geiger was fantastic, and that's not just because we won and not just because I said something in the press," he said.

"I think he had a very good clean game, where there really weren't many mystery calls or doubts or where things were going. There was one that maybe deflected out for a corner or maybe a foul, a little ticky-tack foul here and there, but it's hard to argue with that performance. I think it's maybe the best that we've seen of the year."

As for Vieira refusing to shake hands with him after the game, the Red Bulls coach reckons this wasn't the first time the former Arsenal midfielder has acted this way.

"He didn't want to shake my hand in the hallway," Marsch said. "But I've seen this from him after the game before. It's not a problem. I'm going to focus on us. I think the game was decided by players and in every way our players put a big imprint on the game."

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