Canadian players from the Vancouver Whitecaps, a leading Major League Soccer franchise, have reportedly left American fans fuming after delaying Fourth of July celebrations.
The Whitecaps, one of MLS’s best in 2025, played on the road against the Los Angeles Galaxy on Friday night, frustratingly falling to the American side 3-0, giving the Californians their second win of the season from 21 games.
After the match ended, the Galaxy provided a fireworks show to celebrate the United States’ Independence Day. But that could only begin once all players and coaches from both teams had fully exited the field.
While those from the Galaxy look to have done so promptly, while the Canadian representation did not leave for more than 20 minutes, per BroBible.
Members of the Whitecaps roster appear to walk towards the area of the tunnel of the dressing room, getting close to the edge the field, only to sprint hard in the other direction. This pattern reportedly occurred multiple times.
The California crowd started getting agitated, with the anger only getting worse after the stadium’s public-address announcer declared the fireworks could not start until the Whitecaps were done.
Members of the Vancouver Whitecaps were seen delaying Independence Day fireworks
The post-MLS-match sprints appeared to anger the American fans in the Californian crowd
The Galaxy celebrated Independence Day following their 3-0 win over the Canadian side
The fan who captured the footage saw what the Whitecaps did as an act of defiance, while some have argued the sprints are normal for players after a loss.
‘Honestly, this was the single greatest act of defiance I’ve ever seen. I loved it. Thank you, Canada. @WhitecapsFC… f*** this version of America [sic],’ the video was captioned.
The Galaxy, Whitecaps, and Major League Soccer all have not commented on the delay.
Relations between the United States and Canada have been rocky since Donald Trump regained the White House in January, resulting in a trade war between the countries.
The MLS joins the Big Four sports leagues, minus the NFL, for having both Canadian and American membership under one federation.
The NHL and the MLS are the only two of that bunch to have multiple Canadian teams, with the NBA and MLB being represented by the Toronto duo of the Raptors and Blue Jays respectively.
