In the midst of a halftime tussle between Toronto FC and the New York Red Bulls in Sunday’s Eastern Conference semifinal, an incident that was caught on camera by nearby fans, an unidentified participant can be heard shouting, “Why are you here?”

It’s a question Toronto was still asking about the Red Bulls on Monday. The Reds advanced to the conference final against the Columbus Crew, but will be without striker Jozy Altidore for the first leg of the two-game series. Altidore and New York’s Sacha Kljestan received red cards for their roles in the scuffle, which occurred in the tunnel on the way to Toronto’s locker room.

TFC coach Greg Vanney and defender Justin Morrow were puzzled over why New York’s players and staff were anywhere near Toronto’s room. Morrow said the pushing and shoving broke out past where the visitors were supposed to peel off toward their own dressing room.

Read more: Toronto FC advances to MLS Eastern final after testy showdown

“There is a corridor that goes the opposite way for a reason and the opposition did not go in that direction. They should not be in that space and therefore things start to boil over,” said Vanney, who was still annoyed Monday.

Morrow called New York’s encroachment on Toronto’s space “egregious.”

“I said after the game last night: in sports, these things happen,” Morrow said. “Games get physical. It gets emotional, fights break out, these things happen, OK. But they shouldn’t be in our tunnel and I think they instigated it, in that sense.”

Tensions began running high on the field about 30 minutes into the match, when Altidore and Kljestan received yellow cards for getting into each others’ faces. Referee Chris Penso allowed the dust-up, which involved at least half the players from each team, go on for minutes, pulling out cards after Kljestan put two hands on Altidore’s chest and the TFC forward dropped to the ground. Both players have since blamed the other for being the aggressor in the ensuing trouble in the tunnel.

Toronto FC striker Jozy Altidore and New York Red Bulls captain Sacha Kljestan were sent away after a halftime fight at Game 2 of the MLS East semifinal Sunday. TFC lost 1-0 but still advanced to the final on an away goals rule. (The Canadian Press)

It’s only an issue this week for the Reds, who have at least two more games to play. They will also be without Sebastian Giovinco for the first leg of the conference final after he accumulated a pair of yellow cards in the two games against New York.

Toronto was compiling information to submit to Major League Soccer on Monday — security tapes, video, witness testimony — in an effort to get Altidore’s suspension rescinded. The club had to let the league know if it planned to appeal within 24 hours of the final whistle.

Altidore was not at the training ground on Monday, due to previously scheduled personal business.

An independent body — made up of one representative each from the United States Soccer Federation and the Canadian Soccer Association, as well as a former referee — will ultimately decide Altidore’s fate, should the Reds’ choose to appeal Penso’s decision. MLS’s disciplinary committee, which is comprised of three former MLS players, one former MLS coach and one former MLS referee, can also extend the one-game suspension if it believes additional sanctions are warranted.

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The team doesn’t plan to speak publicly about the incident again, Vanney said. Toronto’s focus over the next two weeks will be on the Crew, who the coach said will present a different challenge because “they’ll play soccer.”

While Morrow believes his team deserves credit for the “massive job” that was getting past New York, TFC must also understand that future opponents could employ tactics similar to the Red Bulls’ attempts to get under the skin of the Supporters’ Shield champions.

“We have to realize that if teams don’t think they can beat us other ways, that’s what they’re going to resort to,” Morrow said. “So we have to learn from that.”

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