NYC FC coach Nick Cushing denies punching teenage Toronto FC player
New York City FC manager Nick Cushing has denied allegations that he punched a Toronto FC player in March.
The accusation was made public this weekend by Toronto manager John Herdman, who accused Cushing of punching an unnamed 19-year-old player during halftime of a game between the two teams earlier this season.
“I categorically deny any involvement or incident in which I struck or assaulted any Toronto FC player or staff member,” Cushing said at a news conference Monday. “Personally, I am shocked. I am angry about the accusation.”
Cushing said he was not contacted by MLS and was not informed of the allegation until Saturday.
The two clubs were involved in an on-field brawl after New York’s 3-2 victory at BMO Field on Saturday. The bad blood dates back to New York’s 2-1 win on March 16, when an altercation broke out in the tunnel during halftime at Yankee Stadium.
Disagreement after the final whistle between Toronto FC and NYCFC.
Sean Johnson and Strahinja Tanasijević in the middle. pic.twitter.com/qsIRc9Oqhb
— Tom Bogert (@tombogert) May 12, 2024
“There was nothing in it. It was two teams fighting for three points,” Cushing said of the altercation in March ahead of this weekend’s rematch.
This weekend, Herdman and Toronto club captain Jonathan Osorio described a more physical confrontation in the March game.
“When we hear about the coach and three of their players cornering a 19-year-old [player] from us, by himself. Then there is a problem,” Osorio said. “And I think that kind of carried over [into Saturday’s game], probably on their part too. … We just let them know that we hadn’t forgotten that.”
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Osorio did not identify the 19-year-old, but Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty, who scored in the seventh minute at Yankee Stadium, was the only 19-year-old on Toronto’s roster for the March game. Herdman said the player in question was “cornered and punched in the face.”
Herdman confirmed Saturday that Toronto had requested CCTV footage of the Yankee Stadium tunnel and that available film had been sent to the league office.
NYC FC has asked MLS to investigate. The league has not yet commented.
Cushing has been head coach of NYC FC since 2022. The Englishman was previously in charge of Manchester City Women.