Montreal Impact executive Richard Legendre said the delay to Tuesday night's MLS playoff game against Toronto FC after a penalty area was found to have been wrongly marked out was the result of "a human mistake."
The match was delayed about 40 minutes after officials found the lines of the 18-yard box at one end of Olympic Stadium -- which accommodates a larger crowd than the club's usual Stade Saputo -- had been painted around two yards too close to the goal.
They had to be cleared and re-marked, meaning the match -- scheduled to kick off at 8 p.m. ET -- did not get under way until just after 8:40 p.m. local time.
Legendre said the Impact took full responsibility for the mistake.
"We will make sure that it doesn't happen again," he said. "We're going to have to put in place additional measures to check and double-check the dimensions.
"It was noticed by the officials when they came on the field around 7:10 p.m. and measured it more precisely and saw the mistake."
The one where nothing beats a fresh coat of paint! #MTLvTOR pic.twitter.com/sAtonNncxE
- ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) November 23, 2016
Montreal coach Mauro Biello, whose side won the game 3-2, said his players had been unfazed, but Toronto coach Greg Vanney said the situation was "a complete surprise" and "should have been dealt with."
"The stadium and the field should have been standardized long ago," Vanney said.
Impact goalkeeper Evan Bush said he had been aware something was amiss as he warmed up, noticing that the penalty area "felt a bit shorter."
However, Toronto FC captain Michael Bradley suggested that the incorrect lines might have been more than a simple mistake.
"It's probably not totally out of the realm of possibilities that they did it on purpose, maybe, to add to the drama of it all?" Bradley said.
"I don't know. In the end, it was a great night for the league and the two cities. It doesn't take away from anything."