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Canadian football ties can still be mended: Osorio

TORONTO –

Veteran midfielder Jonathan Osorio has voiced support for Canada captain Christine Sinclair and her assertion that Canada Soccer operates in a “culture of secrecy and obstruction.”

“I think I’ve been through moments like that,” said the Toronto FC star.

Osorio said there has been no attempt to mend the relationship between the players and the governing body in the past.

“It’s a separate thing, not a team thing. And because of that, this is where we are right now,” he said after Friday’s training session. “There’s a big gap between the two sides where there shouldn’t be.

“In good federations, both sides should work together and everything is transparent. So we can work with them. We understand that there are limitations and all that.”

On a positive note, Osorio said he believes the relationship can be repaired.

“Because a relationship that hasn’t been mended for a long time, it will take time to mend it. But it is possible. And the players, we are trying, we are doing what we can. We can now fix that. Now we also need the other side to cooperate so that things can get better.”

Sinclair made his remarks before a congressional committee.

Sinclair and teammate Janine Beckie also criticized Canada Soccer for publishing part of the proposed fee-negotiation agreement hours before their testimony before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage.

Osorio also disapproved of Canada Soccer’s move.

“I think that’s unfair. It’s some kind of tactic to try to deflect from what’s really being discussed here,” he said. “For me, there’s a way to go about things. I think they’re getting a little off track… A little more transparency is needed. And, in my opinion, there’s a respectful way. to deal with that.”

Osorio said the sport is at a crossroads in Canada.

“It can go either way. It can keep improving and keep going up. Or it can go back to where it was a few years ago.”

The sixth-placed women’s team, which formed the Canadian Footballers Association in 2016, has been without an employment contract since its last contract expired at the end of 2021. In principle, they have reached an agreement. with Canada Soccer about compensation for 2022 but said other issues remain unresolved.

The 53rd-ranked men, who organized last summer as the Canadian men’s national soccer team Players Association, are working on their first formal employment agreement.

Both teams resorted to work action because of dissatisfaction with the labor stalemate.

The men boycotted a scheduled friendly against Panama last June in Vancouver. And the women’s team took down the instruments briefly before the SheBelead Cup last month before being forced back onto the pitch in the face of threats of legal action from Canada Soccer.


This report by The Canadian Press was first published on March 10, 2023.



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