MONTREAL - The media will be allowed into Toronto FC's locker-room for post-game interviews after all.
An emphatic Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber said Wednesday that TFC will follow league policy by opening its doors to the media beginning with its next game Saturday at San Jose.
New TFC coach Aron Winter informed the Toronto media in a letter April 2 the room would be closed this season as part of his bid to "create a real football environment."
In Europe, the media is almost never allowed into a locker-room, which teams consider a private, almost sacred place.
"We recognize that many coaches come from a European environment where there's less access to the locker-rooms because that's the culture," Garber told The Canadian Press. "Well, that's not the culture that exists in North American sport.
"One of the great aspects of our industry is the symbiotic relationship that exists between the media and pro sports teams. It's a partnership, together, to grow the game."
Added Garber: "Aron Winter came into this with a European background. I think he's going to be a great coach and a participant in helping to grow the game in Canada. And I'm sure Aron will be letting the media into their locker-room.
"You can't create rules that work for one team and not the other or one coach and not the other. Rules are rules."
