MUNICH: 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.

In an interview with German tabloid Bild published Friday, 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.”

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.

Canada Soccer initially gave the 24-year-old the all clear, but an examination in Munich revealed he had torn his ACL, ruling Davies out for at least six months.

“Sending an obviously injured player with a damaged knee on a twelve-hour intercontinental flight without a thorough medical assessment is, in our view, grossly negligent and a clear breach of medical duty of care,” Dreesen said, saying the match had “little sporting significance”.

“Phonzy [Davies] is not at fault, he’s the captain and he wants to take responsibility... Canada as host nation of the 2026 World Cup has already qualified, you can’t take risks with a player like him.”

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.”

“It is bitter for us and the way it happened is just not correct,” Freund said. “We want to know what exactly happened.”

Freund said Davies had complained of fatigue after Canada’s prior game but still played. “He is the captain, a young man who wanted to help his team but it was borderline,” he said.

“The second issue is the injury after 12 minutes. Then Phonzy flies back on a 12-hour flight and we all assume it is not a serious injury but then we have this. 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.”

There was no immediate response from the Canada team.

Davies was one of two players, along with Dayot Upamecano, who returned from international duty injured. Upamecano will be sidelined for several weeks with a knee injury.

Both will miss Bayern’s Champions League quarter-final against Inter Milan next month.

The Bavarians, 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.

Coach Vincent Kompany said his team had enough quality to fill the absences and there were would be no excuses.

“It is a pity first of all for Phonzy and Upamecano, who cannot be with us at this crucial period of the season,” he said. “This season we had to compensate for other absences. Hopefully it will bring the group tighter together ... The reaction is what’s important. There are no excuses for me. Just to win the next game and keep improving.”

Published in Dawn, March 29th, 2025