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TORONTO — Toronto FC's head coach John Carver said he that he had "a real positive conversation" with Major League Soccer on Monday after his remarks after Saturday's match in which he said the fourth official had been disrespectful to him.
After the 0-0 draw with the Columbus Crew at BMO Field, Carver said that the fourth official in the match, Mauricio Navarro had acted in an aggressive manner toward him during the game and at half time and had frequently pointed his finger at him.
Carver felt the official's manner might have been influenced by a DVD sent out by MLS that showed Carver on the sideline in TFC's previous match, a 1-1 draw with the New York Red Bulls on May 1. The DVD was part of a program to help control sideline behaviour.
Carver admitted at the time that his conduct in that match might have been a little too aggressive.
But he said on Saturday he was the calmest he has probably been all season.
"The league contacted me and had a real positive conversation and it's been dealt with," Carver said on Tuesday after TFC trained in preparation for Wednesday's match against D.C. United at BMO Field.
It is quite possible Carver won't be fined. He did not criticize the officials on the pitch and, in fact, he said after the match that he felt the game was well handled.
"I got a phone call (Monday) afternoon when I was at home and it was a real positive conversation with the league," Carver said. "I was very pleased with how they spoke to me and the way the discussions went. I think we'll just leave it at that. It's been dealt with and I'm quite happy with the way it's been dealt with so far."
He said he that most of the time the officials did a good job.
Carver admittedly is a passionate person. "I'm not going to change," he said. "Yeah, I'll control myself if I'm out of order. I'll slap myself on the wrist and control myself and I'll think twice about it now. What I don't want to do is distract from the football side of it. I have to be honest I was distracted on the weekend. That's unprofessional from my viewpoint. I have to stay focused and the only way I can do that is concentrating on the game and not worry about everything else that's going on."
Carver said that midfielder Maurice Edu has a 75 per cent chance of starting Wednesday's game. Edu took a knock on his leg in training last Friday and then took one on it again late in Saturday's game and was replaced. Edu also has had a slight problem with his foot. But Carver said each day Edu has improved "100 per cent" and so he will give him as much time as possible before naming the team for the game.
And winger Darren Huckerby is still a possibility for TFC. There is a feeling that a deal could be close although he has yet to reveal his intentions. The feeling is it might be a family decision.
Huckerby is out of contract after playing for Norwich City. Carver knows Huckerby from their days at Newcastle.
TFC put in a discovery claim for Huckerby quite some time ago, during the winter, beating out the San Jose Earthquakes, and has first MLS rights to him.
