Vancouver Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini was suspended for six games by Major League Soccer on Thursday after multiple league policy violations in a season-ending playoff loss earlier this month.
The 47-year-old Italian was shown a red card in the 95th minute of a 1-0 loss to Los Angeles FC on November 5 that eliminated Vancouver in the first round of the MLS playoffs.
Sartini was ejected for verbal abuse of the referee after the official had accidentally bumped into a Whitecaps player, preventing him from defending on what appeared to be an LAFC counter-attack goal which was later ruled out.
Sartini was hit was a one-game ban for the ejection but the league added an extra five games to the ban for what an MLS statement called his “violation of league policies, including entering the field of play in a confrontational manner and public criticism following the match.”
Sartini, who was also find $20,000, must complete a league-approved behavioral assessment and comply with any recommended treatment programs before he can return.
His suspension will begin with the Whitecaps’ 2024 season opener, but he could petition for a suspension reduction after compliance with any treatment recommendation.
Sartini was not the only Vancouver staffer punished after a 94th-minute mass confrontation policy violation from the LAFC loss.
Vancouver defender Mathias Laborda of Uruguay was issued a one-match suspension and fined an undisclosed sum for entering the field of play in a confrontational manner and sparking or escalating a mass confrontation.
