The age-old conflict between Major League Soccer’s summer schedule and that of the rest of the world will keep Crew SC midfielder Justin Meram from playing in the Rio Olympics next month.
Meram, a veteran of the Iraq national team, will not be one of three overage players on Iraq’s roster for the Under-23 Olympic tournament, he said this afternoon.
“It’s not the fault of Columbus or Iraq,” Meram said. “It’s just not going to work out. Iraq needed me to head to Algeria (for training camp) today and be with them through Aug. 16. That’s a long time.