Why LAFC's Mark Delgado receiving LA Galaxy MLS Cup ring caused controversy | OneFootball

Nearly three full days after the LA Galaxy and LAFC played to an entertaining 2-2 draw in the latest edition of El Trafico on Sunday evening, folks on both sides of the rivalry are still bickering about one of the stranger MLS controversies in recent times.

Mark Delgado was part of the LA Galaxy's MLS Cup-winning side in 2024. But he moved to LAFC in an offseason trade, and as a result was not able to participate in the LA Galaxy's MLS Cup ring ceremony earlier this season.

Instead, the club used the teams' meeting and Dignity Health Sports Park as an occasion to bestow the ring on Delgado as LAFC arrived a couple days before kickoff.

That was all according to plan. But Delgado got upset upon learnig the video of the emotional ceremony was posted on LA Galaxy social media channels the day prior to the match, saying he was told it was only going to be shown inside the stadium during warm-ups.

And many LAFC fans did not react kindly to the content posted in the countdown to the first meeting between the traditional rivals of the new season, and the first ever between the clubs with the Galaxy playing the role of defending MLS Cup champions.

The Sunday Night Soccer impact

Amplifying the situation further, the MLS Season Pass studio hosts for the Sunday Night Soccer clash disagreed pretty dynamically about the apropriateness of the gesture, even before Delgado spoke out against how video of the ceremony was used.

Sacha Kljestan was far more complimentary of the decision, while Bradley Wright-Phillips thought the timing was in exceptionally poor taste. The debate is contained in a clip that as of Tuesday night had nearly 90 views on X (formerly Twitter).

Both analysts were former players for the New York Red Bulls, the club that suffered defeat to the Galaxy in last year's MLS Cup final. But Kljestan, a Southern California native, also played his final three seasons with the Galaxy.