The similarities between Toronto FC’s season opener at Real Salt Lake and last year’s MLS Cup final continue to stack up: missed chances, a tough pitch, frustration from the penalty spot and, now, unhappiness over the refereeing.
It did not get mentioned a ton in the aftermath of the loss to the Seattle Sounders - no one wants to be seen making excuses, after all - but the visitors certainly benefited from the fact that referee Alan Kelly tended to take a lenient approach to awarding free-kicks and dishing out yellow cards for persistent fouling.