MONTREAL — Two weeks after the incident occurred, Harry Novillo assessed his lost passport situation while speaking with reporters.
The French winger was not able to fly with his Montreal Impact teammates for what was a 7-1 loss to Sporting Kansas City on March 30. With the help of team staff, Novillo gathered the necessary paperwork from the French embassy in Canada that allowed him to travel and start in the team’s 0-0 draw at NYCFC last Saturday. He also came off the bench for Tuesday’s 0-0 result at DC United.
“It wasn’t panic, but more frustration to not be able to help my teammates,” Novillo said about his reaction to the situation. “We’re a tightly knit group, I think that it affected everyone, myself first. I wasn’t able to give them what I wanted to give them, so I watched them, I supported them.”
Novillo added that he apologized to his teammates after missing the Kansas City game. He is now focused on turning the page on the event.
“The best thing was to apologize and to work hard in training to show them that I was sorry and to support them during the time that I couldn’t be there,” Novillo said.
Last week, head coach Remi Garde said that he spoke to Novillo one on one about the incident. Garde also mentioned that there would be sanctions for the event, but did not share publicly what those would be. Novillo also kept those discussions private when asked.
“Everything that happened between me and the coach stays between me and the coach,” Novillo said. “We share a lot when we’re on the field, . . . and I think that when the coach talks in private with the players it stays private.”