Toronto FC leads the MLS standings at 12-2-5 with four regular-season games to playGETTY IMAGES
Toronto FC coach Greg Vanney called the decision to not hand out the MLS Supporters' Shield this year "disappointing and 'kind of disgraceful,'" according to Neil Davidson of the CP. The Supporters’ Shield is awarded annually to the team that finishes with the best regular-season record, but it will not be handed out because of the current campaign’s "unusual circumstances." The decision was made by the Supporters’ Shield Foundation, the group "appointed by the Independent Supporters Council to oversee the awarding of the trophy every year." Toronto FC leads the standings at 12-2-5 with four regular-season games to play. Vanney said, “Pick your circumstances. This year it’s COVID. It’s injuries, its incredible difficult schedules." TFC MF Michael Bradley said, “It seems ridiculous. There’s no sugar-coating that. It seems crazy that three weeks from the end of the season, that all of a sudden you can just decide that one of the three trophies that teams are fighting for throughout a season is no longer in play.” MLS on Sunday night had "removed the Supporters’ Shield name from the overall standings on its website." But the league, while calling the '20 campaign “unprecedented,” said that the team finishing first in the standings "will still be rewarded." MLS said those rewards include the "top seed in the Audi MLS Cup playoffs," a "berth in the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League" and $150,000 (CP, 10/19).
