MLS

New York City FC confirmed it's investigating allegations from a woman who said former forward David Villa sexually harassed her during her time as an intern with the team. 

"New York City Football Club has learned of the allegations made by a former intern by seeing them on social media," the team said, per ESPN FC's Jeff Carlisle. "We take this matter extremely seriously and we do not tolerate harassment of any kind in any areas of our organization. We immediately launched an investigation into the matter."

Twitter user Skyler B said Friday she had worked as an intern with NYCFC and Villa sexually harassed her on a persistent basis.

"I thought I was getting the opportunity of a life time when I got that internship," she said. "What I got was David Villa touching me every f--king day and my bosses thinking it was great comedic material."

Yahoo Sports' Doug McIntyre shared a statement from Villa through his agent.

"I strongly object to the accusations made about me on Twitter," he said. "These accusations are entirely false and I deny them. ... It's hard to understand why this was not raised previously if any one felt uncomfortable at any time."

Villa also asked for people to "please respect my right to the presumption of innocence in this matter."

The 38-year-old signed with NYCFC in June 2014 and was the team's first player as it planned for its inaugural season in MLS in 2015. The 2010 World Cup winner made 117 appearances over four years and left following the conclusion of the 2018 season.

McIntyre confirmed the woman making the allegations worked for NYCFC in 2018, when Villa was a member of the club.

The Charlotte MLS expansion franchise scheduled to debut in 2022 announced on Wednesday that its official name will be Charlotte FC.

It also highlighted its newly minted crest, which is a crown to represent its hometown nickname, the Queen City:

Charlotte was originally set to join the league in 2021, but its arrival has been delayed one year by the coronavirus pandemic.

The club will play its home games at Bank of America Stadium in North Carolina. The NFL's Carolina Panthers are the stadium's main tenant. Both teams are owned by David Tepper.

Charlotte announced midfielder Sergio Ruiz, who has played the last four seasons for Racing de Santander in La Liga, as its first signing in early July.

"I am so happy and am really looking forward to arriving in Charlotte," the 25-year-old Spaniard said. "It's an exciting project and a dream for me. I am committed to do my best and make the club and its fans feel really proud."

In January, the club confirmed it already took in over 22,000 season-ticket deposits.

El Trafico moved east on Saturday with LAFC routing LA Galaxy 6-2 during Group F play at the MLS Is Back tournament in Orlando, Florida. 

Diego Rossi's four goals paced LAFC in the win as the Galaxy struggled to keep up in the second half. The 22-year-old forward found the back of the net in just about every way possible: a penalty kick, a breakaway in transition and two extra-time scores.

Galaxy's Javier Hernandez missed the match due to an ankle injury on Thursday, leaving the club without arguably its most important striker.

The win moves LAFC to 1-0-1 in group play and in second place behind the Portland Timbers (2-0), while the Galaxy drop to 0-2 and remain the only team in Group F yet to record a point in the standings. 

The new venue didn't change the intensity of the match, which featured two lead changes and seven yellow cards. 

Despite the Galaxy entering as an underdog after having dropped their opening match to Portland on July 13, L.A.'s first MLS club dominated possession off the opening kickoff. It only took five minutes for the Galaxy to take the lead as LAFC's Latif Blessing scored an own goal off a deflection from Sebastian Lletget. 

The Galaxy continued to control possession through the first quarter of the game, which proved the most effective stretch the club had all night. 

Rossi netted an equalizer off a penalty kick in the 13th minute to get his night started, and it quickly became impossible to slow him down. 

By the 30-minute mark, LAFC had completely flipped their play, owning 63 percent of the possession time.

Cristian Pavon scored on a penalty kick attempt in the 31st minute, briefly allowing the Galaxy to retake the lead. 

After his initial penalty kick was blocked by LAFC keeper Pablo Sisniega, Pavon was given a second opportunity with referees ruling LAFC moved to defend the shot before Pavon could attempt it. 

The Galaxy's second lead didn't last much longer than its first, with Rossi following up on a rebound off a shot from Bradley Wright-Phillips just before halftime. 

Wright-Phillips would get on the the scoresheet himself in the 56th minute only moments after a goal from Galaxy's Joe Corona was called back for offsides. 

That seemed to tilt things in LAFC's favor the rest of the way as the Galaxy deflated and Rossi continued to outscore the Galaxy on his own.   

Major League Soccer announced Sunday's postponed match between D.C. United and Toronto FC has been rescheduled for Monday at 9 a.m. ET.

The match was postponed after one player on United tested positive for COVID-19 and a result for a Toronto player came back inconclusive.

"Under the league's health and safety protocols, clubs are tested the day before each match," the league said in a statement on Sunday. "The results of yesterday's tests for D.C. United and Toronto FC produced an initial unconfirmed positive COVID-19 case for one player and an inconclusive test for another player. Because of the arrival time of the clubs in Orlando, the league's protocol called for retesting both teams this morning and to await the results of those tests prior to playing the match.

"Major League Soccer will continue to prioritize the health and safety of all participants of the MLS is Back Tournament in making these decisions."

Additionally, both teams have had subsequent matches rescheduled. Wednesday's match between Toronto FC and the Montreal Impact has been pushed back one day to Thursday at 8 p.m. ET. Meanwhile, D.C. United and the New England Revolution will now go head-to-head on Friday at 8 p.m. ET rather than on Wednesday.

The MLS Is Back tournament has already seen FC Dallas and Nashville SC pull out due to several positive COVID tests. Sporting Kansas City had a positive test reported Friday, but there has been no plan announced to scrap its game against Minnesota United, scheduled for later Sunday.

There have been six games played in the event thus far. 

In addition to Minnesota-Kansas City, Real Salt Lake will take on the Colorado Rapids on Sunday. 

Montreal Impact manager Thierry Henry honored the memory of George Floyd and provided a powerful gesture for the Black Lives Matter movement when he knelt for the first eight minutes and 46 seconds of Thursday's contest against the New England Revolution.

Henry was wearing a shirt with "Black Lives Matter" across the front while kneeling.

As Ian Quillen of MLS's official website pointed out, the time period is of particular importance because it is how long prosecutors originally said former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck as the latter pleaded for his life and said he could not breathe.

Floyd's death sparked worldwide protests against police brutality and racism.

ESPN noted Henry is no stranger to using his platform to publicly fight racism. The 1998 FIFA World Cup winner with France helped launch the Stand Up Speak Up campaign in 2005 and has supported the Show Racism the Red Card charity.

Henry's decision to take a knee for eight minutes and 46 seconds comes after other MLS players have shown their support for the Black Lives Matter movement upon the league's restart at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.

Steven Goff of the Washington Post noted the 22 starters all took a knee at the center circle prior to Orlando City's victory over Inter Miami on Wednesday.

What's more, Black players from around the league joined both teams for eight minutes and 46 seconds to honor Floyd before the game:

On Thursday, Philadelphia Union players wore the names of Black victims who died from police brutality on the backs of their jerseys against New York City FC:

Alicia Lee of CNN noted the jerseys had the last names of Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner, Alton Sterling, Tamir Rice, Philando Castille and Sandra Bland, among others. Goalkeeper Andre Blake's jersey had the last name of George Floyd.

The bottom of the jerseys also had the message "One name too many."

Nashville SC has opted out of the MLS Is Back tournament because of multiple positive COVID-19 tests within its traveling party.

The club confirmed the news after its exit was first reported by The Athletic:

"Nashville SC arrived in Orlando, Fla. on July 1, having taken all the necessary steps and following all the mandated protocols established by the league as well as local and national health authorities to minimize the risk and exposure to the virus. Despite the precautions, one player tested positive upon arrival at the host hotel, and another eight Nashville SC players tested positive upon a few days of arrival.

"Following daily testing of players and staff during the past nine days, it was determined that the club would not be medically cleared to get sufficient training before their next match. As a result, it was decided that it would be in the best interest of the health and safety of the players, the staff and the rest of the league that Nashville SC does not participate in the tournament."

MLS announced it was postponing the team's Wednesday matchup with the Chicago Fire after Nashville SC had five players test positive. The Athletic's Sam Stejskal reported that four more players had since tested positive.

FC Dallas has already withdrawn from the tournament after having 10 players and one member of the coaching staff test positive.

Like the WNBA and NBA, MLS has shifted its operations to Florida temporarily during the coronavirus pandemic. The league brought all 26 teams to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Kissimmee, Florida, for a one-off tournament ahead of restarting the 2020 season.

The developments with Nashville SC and FC Dallas have illustrated the pitfalls of forging ahead with sports, especially in a state that has been hit hard amid the pandemic's surge in recent weeks.

Nashville was placed into Group A when MLS set the tournament field. To account for the club's withdrawal, the league is planning to move the Chicago Fire into Group B, which was down to three teams without FC Dallas, per Stejskal.

FC Dallas has been withdrawn from the MLS Is Back tournament after several members of the club tested positive for COVID-19, the club announced Monday:

Per an ESPN report, "Dallas had three players test positive before the team arrived to Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex on June 27. That has since been followed by 10 players and one coach testing positive for a total of 14 cases. The team has been under quarantine since then, preventing them from training."

The tournament is set to run between July 8 and Aug. 11. FC Dallas was originally scheduled to open the tournament against the Vancouver Whitecaps on July 9, though it had been postponed. 

Iliana Limon Romero of the Orlando Sentinel reported that MLS is also expected to make additional schedule alterations due to "a mix of positive tests delaying team travel and more positive tests in the days after teams arrived in Orlando." 

FC Dallas manager Luchi Gonzalez said Sunday that "the priority is getting guys healthy, feeling safe, so that we can be strong in the long term, which I know we're going to accomplish," per Jeff Carlisle of ESPN. 

Because of the high number off positive tests for coronavirus within the club, Gonzalez said they had only been able to meet via Zoom calls while quarantined in their hotel rooms over the past week:

"We're just trying to stay connected in the Zooms, which is nothing new. We've been doing that the last few months anyway. It does take its toll a bit and we've got to get creative with things and make sure that we're able to stimulate them. And on top of that, give them a mental rest too and almost give them some space so they can connect to their families, and focus on the people they love."

The news follows LAFC forward Carlos Vela announcing Monday that he was skipping the tournament due to his wife being pregnant. 

"I would like nothing more than to be with my teammates in Orlando. I always want to give everything I have to my Club, our fans and supporters and the city of L.A. However, it is in the best interest of the health of my family to stay home and be with my wife during what is a risky pregnancy," he said in a statement, per Tom Marshall of ESPN.

The 2020 MLS season is about to resume, but things are going to be a bit different than usual.

When the season was suspended in mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic, each of the 26 MLS teams had played two league matches over the first two weeks of the campaign.

However, rather than just pick up with regular-season contests, the league will return with the MLS is Back Tournament, which is set to be held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex at Disney World in Orlando, Florida and starts Wednesday.

It's possible the schedule could change as necessary, though. For example, Thursday's match between FC Dallas and Vancouver Whitecaps was postponed to a later date after FC Dallas had nine players and one coach test positive for COVID-19, according to ESPN.com's Jeff Carlisle.

Assuming everything goes to plan and the tournament is completed, it should be an exciting way for MLS to return to action. Here's everything you need to know about the upcoming tournament.

MLS Is Back Tournament Schedule

July 8-23: Group stage

July 25-28: Round of 16

July 30-Aug. 1: Quarterfinals

Aug. 5-6: Semifinals

Aug. 11: Final

Tournament Groups and Format

Group A: Orlando City SC, Inter Miami CF, New York City FC, Philadelphia Union, Chicago Fire FC, Nashville SC

Group B: Seattle Sounders FC, FC Dallas, Vancouver Whitecaps FC, San Jose Earthquakes

Group C: Toronto FC, New England Revolution, Montreal Impact, D.C. United

Group D: Real Salt Lake, Sporting Kansas City, Colorado Rapids, Minnesota United FC

Group E: Atlanta United FC, FC Cincinnati, New York Red Bulls, Columbus Crew SC

Group F: Los Angeles FC, LA Galaxy, Houston Dynamo, Portland Timbers

Groups A, C and E are composed of the teams in the Western Conference, while the Eastern Conference teams were put into Groups B, D and F.

While five groups have four teams—meaning each team will play one game against each of the other three teams in its group—Group A teams won't play every team in their group, as they'll each still play only three games during the group stage.

After the group stage, 16 teams will advance to the knockout rounds of the tournament—the top three teams from Group A, the top two teams from the other five groups and the three best teams among the ones that finish third in their group (or fourth in Group A).

Tiebreakers are in place to determine the 16 teams for the knockout stage, where games that are tied after regulation will be decided by penalty kicks with no extra time played.

The games in the group stage will count toward the MLS regular-season standings. The winner of the tournament will earn a berth in the 2021 CONCACAF Champions League.

Once the tournament is complete, MLS will go on to resume the regular season with a revised schedule and follow that with the playoffs and MLS Cup as usual.

The full schedule for the tournament can be found at MLSsoccer.com. TV information for the games can be found at ESPN.com, while games that air on an ESPN network can be streamed at WatchESPN.

Wednesday Schedule and Odds

Orlando City SC (+210; bet $100 to win $210) vs. Inter Miami CF (+130), 8 p.m. ET; Odds for draw at +240

Nashville SC (+320) vs. Chicago Fire FC (-120; bet $120 to win $100), 10:30 p.m. ET; Odds for draw at +275

Odds courtesy of Caesars Palace

Tournament Odds and Predictions

According to Roger Gonzalez of CBS Sports, Los Angeles FC is the favorite to win the MLS is Back Tournament with +450 odds. And that shouldn't come as a surprise.

Last season, Los Angeles FC won the Supporters' Shield for finishing the regular season with the best record, as it went 21-4-9 in its second year in MLS. Carlos Vela led the team with 34 goals, which earned him the MLS Golden Boot and the MLS MVP Award, but he's "leaning toward not participating" in the tournament, according to Carlisle.

Despite having an impressive 2019 season, Los Angeles FC didn't fare as well in the MLS playoffs. After beating Los Angeles Galaxy in the Western Conference semifinals, it went on to lose to the Seattle Sounders in the conference finals.

It will certainly hurt Los Angeles FC to not have Vela on the field, but it should still be one of the better teams in the tournament and make a strong run without him.

Toronto FC (+1200), Atlanta United (+1000) and the Seattle Sounders (+800) have won the past three MLS Cups in 2017, 2018 and 2019, respectively, and they should be among the top contenders to win this tournament.

Any of these teams could win the competition, which will have only 54 total games and follows a long layoff. Plus, it could depend on which teams don't lose their top players, either to positive COVID-19 tests or by them opting not to play in the tournament.

While a large number of outcomes are possible, the prediction here is that the Seattle Sounders follow up their MLS Cup victory from last season by winning the MLS is Back Tournament.

Although Seattle lost three of its four starters on defense since winning the MLS Cup, its offense should generate plenty of scoring chances, and by capitalizing on enough, it should take down its competition. Raul Ruidiaz (15 goals) and Jordan Morris (13) led the team in scoring last season, and they should lead the way again when the Sounders are back in action.

Seattle should easily advance out of Group B, and don't be surprised to see it gain momentum and make a run to win the tournament.

Major League Soccer announced Saturday a match between FC Dallas and the Vancouver Whitecaps, which was scheduled to take place July 9 as part of the MLS is Back Tournament, has been postponed because the Whitecaps' travel was delayed by inconclusive COVID-19 tests.

Vancouver and Dallas are both in Group B. The match will get shifted to later in pool play. Further details about the fixture will be released at a later date.

The Whitecaps' inconclusive tests later came back negative. MLS previously announced six Toros players tested positive for the coronavirus after their arrival in Florida.

All 26 MLS teams are taking part in the tournament scheduled to kick off July 8 in Orlando, Florida.

The league is utilizing a similar "bubble" approach to the NBA, which also selected Orlando to serve as its host city before a recent surge in coronavirus cases in Florida.

MLS' schedule calls for group play to run through July 23. The knockout stages begin July 28 en route to crowning a tournament champion Aug. 11.

Both Dallas and Vancouver are now slated to begin play July 15 when the Toros take on Seattle and the Whitecaps battle San Jose.

Restart plans call for the tournament's group stage matches to count toward the regular-season standings. The league is hoping to shift back into traditional play after the event concludes and then finish the campaign with a standard playoffs to determine the 2020 champion.

"Our goal is to play the season in 2020," MLS president Mark Abbott said in June. "There's an opportunity to go into even deeper December than we were before ... I don't think we're looking at playing any of the regular season in 2021—possibly some playoff games. But the first choice is to complete it in calendar 2020."

MLS' season was halted March 12 because of the pandemic.

The Sounders are the reigning league champions. Four teams—Atlanta, Colorado, Minnesota and Sporting KC—had won both their first two matches this season before the delay.