CONCACAF confirmed on Monday that Montreal Impact goalkeeper Evan Bush is suspended for Wednesday's second leg of the Champions League final (8pm ET, FOX Sports 2) due to yellow-card accumulation.
Bush picked up the decisive yellow card in the 89th minute of last Wednesday's first leg at Estadio Azteca, a 1-1 draw between the Impact and Club América.
Although Montreal attempted to appeal the decision, CONCACAF confirmed that Secton 6.5 (a) of the Champions League regulations does not allow appeals for referee decisions:
"The following decisions of the CONCACAF Disciplinary Committee shall not be subject to appeal: a. Cautions and censures imposed on players, Referees, Assistant Referees, fourth Officials, team staff and officials, other persons or national associations."
Although players were given a clean slate in terms of yellow cards after the quarterfinal round, Bush was issued a yellow card in the 33rd minute of the April 7 second leg of the semifinal series against Alajuelense.
With Bush suspended, Eric Kronberg cup-tied due to his participation in the group stage with Sporting Kansas City and Maxime Crepeau not ready to play following injury, Montreal had dressed 26-year-old John Smits, on loan from FC Edmonton, as the backup goalkeeper for their last two Champions League games.
With only Smits available, reports indicate that Montreal are looking into acquiring another goalkeeper for Wednesday's second leg, and Impact technical director Adam Braz said, "We continue to look at all our options for Wednesday's match," in a club statement.
