German club Bayern Munich are weighing their options and considering taking legal action against Canada Soccer for their handling of Alphonso Davies’s anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury during the recently-concluded Concacaf Nations League.
The Canadian captain walked off injured in the 11th minute during their third place match against USA. The Bundesliga table-toppers allege that Canada Soccer did not provide appropriate care and breached their medical responsibilities in the aftermath of the injury.
“Sending a clearly injured player with a damaged knee on a 12-hour intercontinental flight without a thorough medical assessment is, in our view, grossly negligent and a clear breach of medical duty of care,” Bayern chief executive Jan-Christian Dreesen told a German tabloid newspaper Friday.
Dreesen also labeled Canada’s third place match as a ‘match of no sporting significance’.
“The participation of Davies, who already had muscular problems before the game, in a match of no sporting significance is incomprehensible from our point of view. We’re demanding a full investigation into the events from Canada Soccer and expressly reserve the right to take legal action.”
Alphonso Davies out for several months
The Bayern Munich and Canadian left back returned to Munich Wednesday where he underwent surgery after the club determined the full extent of his injury. They put out a statement informing that Davies will be out of action for ‘several months’.
Bayern sporting director Christoph Freund also chimed in and agreed with Dreesen, saying that Canada Soccer’s treatment of Davies after his injury was “incorrect.” He further stated that the Canadian skipper had complained of fatigue before the match as well.
“He is the captain, a young man who wanted to help his team but it was borderline,” Freund said. “The second issue is the injury after 12 minutes. Then Phonzy [Alphonso] flies back on a 12-hour flight and we all assume it is not a serious injury but then we have this,” he added.
“That is sloppy. It is not professional and we need to talk and clear it up. We are the employers, we pay the players, so we will be looking into what happened.”
Resilient Canada Soccer says proper protocols were followed
Canada Soccer, through their chief communications and content officer Paulo Senra, have been resilient in the matter and are holding their ground that proper care protocols were followed in handling Davies’s injury.
“We further reviewed the circumstances related to the medical care provided to Alphonso Davies. Medical documentation confirms that proper care protocols were followed, and communication records show that our medical staff provided updates to Bayern Munich throughout the entire tournament. We spoke further with Bayern Munich today to provide them with context and details to address any misunderstandings. We are all focused on supporting Alphonso in the months ahead,” said the statement.
Earlier, Senra had also termed Nedal Huoseh’s (Davies’s agent) comment as ‘untrue’ when Huoseh blamed Canada Soccer and men’s team coach Jesse Marsch for this fiasco.
Senra maintained that all Canada Soccer coaches and experienced medical staff are true professionals and have always prioritized player safety and wellbeing.
Following that statement, Huoseh made a statement on X mentioning he’d had “positive and productive” communications with Canada coach Jesse Marsch and that they discussed being “aligned and working together.”
Bayern’s compensation under FIFA’s insurance policy
Even though Bayern Munich have suffered a big dent through Davies’s injury, the German club have some respite. Under FIFA’s Club Protection Program that covers national team players’ injury risk, they can claim some compensation for Davies’ salary.
Davies had only recently signed a multi-year contract extension with Bayern that would keep the former Vancouver Whitecaps player in Germany till 2030.
The 24-year-old, who joined the club in the 2018/19 season, made an instant impact and was named the Bundesliga Rookie of the Season in 2019/20.
Bayern will now be without Davies for the final few games this season as they attempt to snatch their record-extending 33rd German Bundesliga championship and face Italian powerhouse Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.
