Facing punishments from Major League Soccer for tampering with youth players, even though the exact scope of their violations hasn’t been made public, the Philadelphia Union are one of the disappointments in the American circuit a third of the way through the season.
The Union are 2-2-4 heading into their next match at Subaru Park against Toronto with eight points, well off the pace set by the New England Revolution and FC Cincinnati who lead the Eastern Conference with 17 points.
After reaching the MLS Final in 2022, the Union were listed as one of the favourites to soar according to the many online sportsbooks in Pennsylvania and are still as one of the top teams to return to the grand final of MLS but have stumbled.
In their last five matches, the Union have been favoured three times, but have only managed two draws. A defensive team that allowed an MLS-low 26 goals in 2022 has already allowed 11. Keep that in mind the next time you’re studying the Pennsylvania online sportsbooks and thinking of putting some bets down.
It is worth wondering, is Philadelphia experiencing a let-down after the incredible heartbreaking loss to LAFC in the MLS Final last year? Or have the tampering allegations dimmed the prospects for the Union pushing forward.
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— FootTheBall FC (@FootTheBallFC) April 17, 2023
Who Said Tampering?
In a detailed report by the esteemed US sports site The Athletic, the Union were cited as a team being punished by MLS for violating multiple rules when it comes to stepping outside their homegrown territory rules and creating their protected youth player lists.
MLS still relies on – some would say an antiquated – system of territorial development for youth players and the corresponding MLS team academies.
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MLS allows franchises to create a list of 54 protected youth players from those geographic areas, 45 who play within their academy and nine who reside in the territory but may play in different club organizations.
Any other player outside those lists can be scouted and recruited by other MLS franchises. And it’s supposed to be hands-off for any player below the under-15 level.
The report never specified exactly what the Union may have done to circumvent the rules, but speculation points to the team going after players below the age range or ‘forcing trades’ of players, so eventually the Union was fined an…
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