The LA Galaxy's hard-luck season took another hit Saturday night in a hotly-contested 2-2 draw vs. the San Jose Earthquakes that saw the Cali Clásico decided by a late, overturned penalty.
With the game level at two in the 88th minute, referee Ramy Touchan called a penalty on San Jose defender Jonathan Mensah for bringing down Daniel Aguirre inside the box – only to rescind his decision after Video Review.
Touchan's controversial change of heart sunk the Galaxy's hopes of earning their first win in a month, and left head coach and sporting director Greg Vanney less than impressed.
"Once you make the call, there's an extraordinary threshold that it takes to change that call back," Vanney said. "... And the reality is the player [Mensah] with his first leg fouls the player [Aguirre], and his back leg, knee, maybe catches a little bit of the ball after he fouls the player.
"This is a foul. This is a foul anywhere on the field."
While freely admitting his players did themselves no favors by squandering two leads – given to them by Raheem Edwards (31') and Preston Judd (47') – LA's boss again felt hard done by the officiating.
"I just... I don't understand it. I don't understand it," said Vanney, who memorably took issue with a non-penalty call during a 2-1 loss to the Seattle Sounders in early April. He also called the decision a "huge error."
Undefeated in their last five games (1W-0L-4D), the Galaxy nonetheless sit near the bottom (13th place) of the Western Conference standings – nine points off Audi MLS Cup Playoff positioning. This comes as they deal with long-term injuries to key veterans Javier "Chicharito" Hernández and MartĂn Cáceres.
Next up they'll host LAFC at the Rose Bowl in a July 4 El Tráfico (10:30 pm ET | Apple TV - Free) that's expected to break an MLS attendance record.
"Our next game is an important one," said Douglas Costa, who contributed both Galaxy assists on the night. "... It's a game that can lift a [team's] morale, and we're going to go for it."
