SDFC star Chucky Lozano apologizes, but is that enough to play in Sunday’s MLS playoff game?

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SDFC star Chucky Lozano apologizes, but is that enough to play in Sunday's MLS playoff game?

San Diego FC winger Hirving “Chucky” Lozano issued an apology for the Oct. 4 locker room incident that led to him being left home from the club’s final regular-season game last weekend, saying in an Instagram post that “I didn’t react in the right way, and I’ve already taken responsibility, addressed it and moved forward.”

The question now is whether coach Mikey Varas has as well.

Varas remained non-committal when asked Friday if the Mexican star would suit up for Sunday’s Major League Soccer playoff opener at Snapdragon Stadium. Game 2 of the best-of-three first-round series against the Timbers is Nov. 1 in Portland; Game 3, if necessary, will be back in San Diego.

“We don’t know,” Varas told media after training Friday. “We’ll make that decision like we do with all players at the end of the week.”

Asked to verify reports that Lozano’s exile was punishment for a locker room tantrum after being subbed out at halftime during the previous game, Oct. 4 at Houston, Varas confirmed only that it was “a situation in Houston” but declined to provide specifics.

“At the end of the day,” Varas said, “Hirving is fully integrated in the team and the training. He’s laughing, he’s working hard. He’s 100% committed to making his way back into the group, and we’re 100% committed to supporting him into his way back into the group. We’ll just take it day by day and make that decision when it needs to be made. … He’s one of our guys.”

What will it take for him to get back in uniform and back on the field?

“Just his actions and his interactions are going to decide that,” Varas said. “But he’s fully committed, and he’s showing a great response.”

That presumably includes the Instagram mea culpa, which was posted in English during Friday’s training — and which came 20 days after the initial incident.

“I’m a passionate and competitive person who always wants to give everything for the team,” the post said. “Sometimes, that same intensity can lead to reactions that don’t reflect who I am or the respect I have for everyone around me.

“What matters most to me is continuing to grow – as a player, as a teammate, and as a person. Every day I’m learning, improving, and doing my best to contribute positively to the team.”

This is not Lozano’s first brush with insurrection. He was left off the Mexican national team in 2024 for several camps after a reported incident when he and a teammate missed a connecting flight. The teammate was rebooked in business class and Lozano complained robustly about being in economy.

Lozano was not made available to media on Friday. The two players who were, captain Jeppe Tverskov and veteran midfielder Aníbal Godoy, both deflected questions about the incident using similar terminology.

Tverskov: “I feel like it’s not been a big thing for us. Chucky is training, as you see on the pitch. It’s one of those things as a club we handle internally, and I feel we’re doing it in a good way.”

Godoy: “It’s an internal situation that we try to control inside of the club. I think Chucky is doing really well in the training. He is really professional. He is really important for the team, a big part of the team. And he’s ready to play Sunday.”

Whether he does represents a major inflection point for Varas in his first year as an MLS head coach.

In U.S. sports, stars are typically afforded more roster leeway, instantly reclaiming starting positions after an absence for injury or even non-injury reasons. And the 30-year-old Lozano is clearly the face of an expansion franchise that caters to the Mexican-American community, arriving on a reported $12 million transfer from Dutch club PSV Eindhoven and being MLS’s fifth-highest paid player at $7.63 million this season.

The conundrum: Amahl Pellegrino, Lozano’s replacement on the left wing for the second half of the Houston match and throughout last week’s win at Portland, scored three goals and logged three assists in 4-2 and 4-0 victories.

The usually affable Varas turned prickly Friday with repeated questions about Lozano’s status, at one point saying: “Do you want me to say the same thing again? Because I will.”

San Diego FC midfielder Hirving Lozano and defender Jeppe Tverskov celebrate after a goal against the FC Dallas during their match at Snapdragon Stadium on Saturday, May 3, 2025 in San Diego, CA. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Tverskov signs extension

SDFC announced Friday that it has signed Tverskov to an extension through 2027 with a club option for 2028.

Tverskov, a defensive midfielder, came to SDFC from sister club FC Nordsjaelland in Denmark. The team captain has scored two goals and logged 13 assists in his first year in the league. He was named an MLS All-Star in July.

“I’m happy,” he said. “I feel like I had a good season here, and it sounds like the club has also been happy with me. As soon as we started talking a little bit about it, it made good sense for both parties. It was so difficult for either of us. Everyone is happy.”