Nuno Espirito Santo has called for a rule change after his first match in charge of Nottingham Forest was ruined by a controversial red card for Willy Boly in a last-gasp 3-2 defeat to Bournemouth.
Boly was sent off in the 23rd minute for two yellow cards, with referee Rob Jones brandishing the second despite the defender clearly winning the ball in a tackle with Adam Smith.
Dominic Solanke went on to break Forest hearts as he completed a hat-trick, heading home a winner in the fifth minute of stoppage time.
Nuno, who took over from the sacked Steve Cooper earlier in the week, was left frustrated by rules which mean VAR cannot intervene to downgrade a yellow card and wants to see a change.
“Very bad decision,” Nuno said. “A decision that totally changed the game.
“It is more the frustration of knowing the approach of the referee is a bad one and the law says you cannot reverse the decision because it is two yellow cards. It is something they have to look at because it doesn’t make sense.
“First of all, the approach of the referee is bad. Boly has a first yellow card, which is fair, but then for the second the foot of Boly is under the foot of the Bournemouth player so the approach (from the referee) should be more cautious.
“Wait a little bit for the help of an assistant or the help of VAR, hold your decision and they will tell you. But after that he cannot reverse the decision.
“Our fans deserve better decisions. They come here to see football and suddenly they see something which really changes the game.
“I saw it over and over and over again to try and understand because I respect the referee. I know it is a tough job. I have seen it many times and I cannot understand it, I cannot understand it. It was bad. It is a mistake, a huge mistake.”
Ten-man Forest went ahead through Anthony Elanga before two goals in seven minutes by Solanke put the Cherries in front.
Chris Wood’s header looked to have earned a point on Nuno’s debut until Solanke sent a header home at the death.
Andoni Iraola, who has guided his side to five wins from the last six games, picked up a booking for waving an imaginary card after the Boly incident, which means he will be banned from the touchline for the Boxing Day clash with Fulham.
The Spaniard, who has two prior offences, is also feeling hard done by.
“This is big mistake for me because when the incident happened I asked for a yellow,” he said.
“I thought nobody saw me but you have the fourth official.
“I think it is too harsh, it was instinctive and I will not be able to be in the dugout. All the yellows are for the same reason.
“Sometimes we are still players, I know I need to improve but I think it is too harsh because I will not be able to be in the dugout against Fulham and that is a big frustration.”
Toronto FC v FC Cincinnati: Noonan puts record-equalling run down to new chemistry
Pat Noonan says it was always just a matter of time before FC Cincinnati found their feet, as they look to set a new club record for successive MLS wins against Toronto FC at BMO Field.
Last year's Supporters' Shield champions have won their last six matches, equalling the best streak in their league history, which they achieved last campaign.
They trail Eastern Conference leaders Inter Miami by just one point with a game in hand, having turned their season around after a slow start.
Noonan believes time spent on the training ground, particularly with offseason arrivals, has been the major factor.
"I think it's just about the understanding of some of the roles. With new faces, that always takes time," Noonan said.
"We've had 13 or 14 games together now and with games and with time, there's better chemistry, better understanding of relationships."
On Toronto, he added: "It's been a good week for them, and I think in terms of structure and personnel, there's a lot of things that are similar."
Toronto are fifth in the Eastern standings after crushing rivals CF Montreal 5-1 in their last league game.
They followed up that win by beating Saint-Laurent 8-1 in the Canadian Championship on Tuesday, and boss John Herdman is delighted to see their forwards enjoying themselves.
"They're just enjoying their football at the minute, really enjoying it," Herdman said. "I've got to tip my hat to the lads. I just can't wait to see this whole team playing together.
"I think there are more levels here and I can't wait to keep pushing for them in the next three or four weeks."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Toronto FC – Lorenzo Insigne
Federico Bernardeschi scored his first career hat-trick in Toronto's derby win last week, but then picked up a late booking that will cause him to be suspended for this game.
Six of the eight hat-tricks scored by Toronto players in MLS have now been scored by Italians, with Sebastian Giovinco netting five. With Bernardeschi out, Insigne must step up.
FC Cincinnati – Luciano Acosta
Acosta has contributed to at least one goal in a club-record eight straight matches, after recording a goal and two assists in a 3-1 win over St. Louis City last week.
The only longer streak in MLS since the start of last season was a nine-game run by the Columbus Crew's Cucho Hernandez, from April to June 2023.
MATCH PREDICTION – FC CINCINNATI WIN
Toronto ended a four-match losing streak against Cincinnati on February 25 with a scoreless draw on the road.
Cincinnati had won six of the previous seven meetings between the teams, in a run dating back to the start of the 2021 season (one defeat).
The Orange and Blue are favourites for this battle between Eastern Conference contenders, having won 30 of their last 49 regular-season games dating back to October 2022. No team in the post-shootout era has ever won 31 times in a span of 50 matches.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Toronto FC – 22.7%
FC Cincinnati – 56.4%
Draw – 20.9%
Charlotte FC v Philadelphia Union: Glass half full for Byrne
Nathan Byrne says Dean Smith's initiative of gifting players bottles of wine when they keep a clean sheet has provided him with plenty of motivation, as the Crown target a fifth successive shutout against the Philadelphia Union.
Charlotte have kept four straight clean sheets in MLS play, playing out a goalless draw with the LA Galaxy last time out after wins over the Portland Timbers (2-0), Nashville SC and the Chicago Fire (both 1-0).
Smith has been rewarding his players for each shutout with a bottle of wine, and Byrne hopes there is plenty more forthcoming.
"It depends if you like wine or not, but for me it's definitely an added incentive. He's behind on his payments," Byrne joked. "We've got enough as it is.
"It helps when there's consistency and the same players learning each other's games every week. We have less individual duels as we can back each other up.
"If you play consistently, you're going to grow in confidence, especially when you're keeping clean sheets and getting good results."
Charlotte are sixth in the Eastern Conference standings, four points clear of eighth-placed Philadelphia.
The Union ended a six-game winless streak by beating the New England Revolution 3-0 last time out, and coach Jim Curtin hopes that result will be a turning point for his side.
Curtin said: "It's a justification for how hard these guys have been working, because we're still the same group right?
"I'm still the same coach, these are still the same players. When they get confident and they get going, we can beat anybody."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Charlotte FC – Kristijan Kahlina
Charlotte have kept four straight clean sheets for the first time in club.
They are the only team to keep clean sheets in four straight matches in MLS this season, and goalkeeper Kahlina will be desperate to keep that run going.
Philadelphia Union – Jack McGlynn
McGlynn (two goals, three assists) has contributed to at least one goal in five straight matches for the Union, equalling the longest streak in club history.
He is the fourth player in Union history to contribute to a goal in five straight games, after Daniel Gazdag (twice), C.J. Sapong and Mikael Uhre.
MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW
The home side has never lost a match between Charlotte and the Union, with the Crown registering a win and a draw in the teams' two meetings at Bank of America Stadium.
Charlotte have only lost two of their last 26 home matches in all competitions, winning 14 and drawing 10 in a run dating back to late March 2023.
The Union, meanwhile, are unbeaten in their first seven away matches this season (three wins, four draws), the longest unbeaten streak on the road in their history.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Charlotte FC – 35.5%
Philadelphia Union – 39.3%
Draw – 25.2%
Man Utd without injured Maguire for FA Cup final
Manchester United defender Harry Maguire will miss Saturday's FA Cup final clash with Manchester City, Red Devils boss Erik ten Hag has confirmed.
Maguire has been sidelined since suffering a muscle injury in training earlier in May, with the timeframe for his recovery estimated at around three weeks.
That meant he always faced an uphill battle to make Saturday's showpiece game at Wembley Stadium, though he was included in England's preliminary Euro 2024 squad on Tuesday.
At Thursday's pre-match press conference, Ten Hag confirmed Maguire will not be available but said Victor Lindelof, Mason Mount and Anthony Martial are in contention after being pictured in training.
"Harry Maguire is unavailable but the rest, all the players you mentioned, I think they are available," the Dutchman said when asked for a team news update.
"We have our final training tomorrow and then we have final decisions to make. But, as I oversee it now, it looks good."
Asked if Maguire's chances of featuring at the Euros were in doubt, Ten Hag said: "I don't think so. It's just he doesn't make it [the final]. It didn't heal as we expected."
Fellow centre-backs Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane are expected to be available, with the latter set to leave United on a free transfer after the final.
United have lost 19 games and conceded 84 goals in all competitions this season. They last lost 20 in a campaign in 1973-74 (22) and last conceded more than 84 goals in 1963-64 (89).
Ten Hag's position has been called into question throughout their miserable campaign, with reports on Thursday suggesting Ipswich Town's Kieran McKenna was a target for the Jim Ratcliffe regime.
Ten Hag, however, says the opportunity to win a second major trophy in as many seasons is his only focus.
"It's all about trophies," he said. "We have a huge opportunity to win a trophy.
"In the last 10 years, there were not many trophies in this club but we have an opportunity to win two trophies in two years."
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