Bayern Munich on Friday threatened Canada Soccer with legal action after defender Alphonso Davies returned from the March international break with a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
The ACL injury has put Davies out of the German club for six months, which means he will be missing the crucial finale season.
Bayern Munich Blast Canada Soccer
In an interview with German tabloid, Bayern CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen said the club wanted a “complete clarification of the events”, accusing Canada Soccer of “gross negligence” and saying “we reserve the right to take legal action.”
“We demand that Canada Soccer fully investigate the events and we expressly reserve the right to take legal action. Sending an obviously injured player with a damaged knee on a twelve-hour intercontinental flight without a thorough medical examination is, in our view, grossly negligent and a clear violation of medical due diligence,” Dreesen said.
Davies, the Canada captain, went off injured 12 minutes into a third-place CONCACAF Nations League play-off with the United States on Sunday, which the Canadians won 2-1.
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Canada Soccer initially gave the clearance to the 24-year-old, but an examination in Munich revealed he had suffered a torn ACL, ruling him out for at least six months.
In a press conference on Friday, a visibly frustrated Bayern sporting director Christoph Freund told reporters Canada Soccer’s decision was “borderline and negligent”, adding “the way things went down was incorrect.”
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“We want to get this all cleared up. It’s very bitter. Phonzy complained of fatigue, but still played, he’s the team captain, he’s a young guy who wants to help his country. Then there’s this injury, Phonzy flew back, a 12-hour flight, and we were told it’s nothing serious. And then the examination revealed such an injury. Health is the most important thing. It’s really bitter. We’ll look into it thoroughly. The guys are at their limit – so we have to explore everything to ensure the players’ health. We’re doing everything to protect our players,” said Freund.
“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.”
According to a report from Sport1, Bayern Munich might be entitled to financial compensation from FIFA after the injury to Alphonso Davies. The report says:
Bayern are entitled to financial compensation following Alphonso Davies’ serious injury. Since Davies sustained the injury during an international break, Bayern could appeal to FIFA. The so-called “Club Protection Program” of the world governing body ensures that clubs are compensated for the loss of their players if they are injured during matches with the national team. The amount of compensation payments is calculated based on the salary of the respective player. The maximum amount FIFA can pay out to clubs is €7.5 million.
Also Read: Alphonso Davies’ Season Is Over With An ACL: Agent Criticises Canada Team Officials For The Injury
Losing Davies is a double whammy as Bayern also lost centre-back Dayot Upamecano to a long-term leg injury in the international break. Both will miss Bayern’s Champions League quarterfinal against Intern Milan next month.
Bayern, who host St Pauli in the league on Saturday, have gone two games without a Bundesliga victory and their lead over second-placed Bayer Leverkusen has been cut to six points.
