The new pro soccer team NYCFC has started to look silly with regularly repeated public denials that the grass field it uses for home MLS matches at Yankee Stadium is smaller than what the rest of the league plays on.

Every MLS franchise in the league except NYCFC conforms with the “international match standard” for field dimensions set out in the FIFA Laws of the Game. That widely-recognized rule book says the playing surface must be a minimum of 70 yards wide and 110 yards long.

The Bondy Boys at the Daily News (Filip and Stefan) have written about NYCFC’s field skimpiness since the home opener two weeks ago but the team’s consistent retort has been to shut down consideration of the subject with either a denial or a refusal to discuss it.

What’s unfortunate is that the father-son Bondy duo have long covered soccer both locally and internationally with the purest of intentions. They surely want NYCFC to succeed without saying so but are viewed as villains by NYCFC because they keep harping on the field size.

The story blew wide open last weekend when Sporting KC came to town. The Bondy Boys have been unable to independently verify the field’s size beyond eyeballing it. NYCFC won’t let ’em near the surface for an official measurement. So, Fil Bondy worked around the dumb stonewall by NYCFC and simply got the info directly from KC’s head coach Peter Vermes. “It’s 68 by 106,” said Vermes.

What made the field’s shortcomings even more of a flashpoint was that the lone goal in the match came on a throw-in by KC’s Matt Besler from the sideline. Because the field’s width is pinched relative to the goal mouth, the Besler toss reached uncharted territory and found the head of teammate Ike Opara for the score.

A throw from the sideline wouldn’t normally threaten the danger zone but NYCFC’s field yields such opportunities. Vermes acknowledged advanced knowledge of the short field and said his squad prepared for ways to exploit it.

I would think it’s just a matter of time before MLS commissioner Don Garber intervenes and forces NYCFC to acknowledge that the field it plays on fails to meet minimum standards. The league could adopt a temporary measure allowing for an exemption in this case. The alternative would be to rotate the rectangle but that’s not gonna happen given the extra work involved with transitioning between soccer and baseball and the dirt portions of the setup.

NYCFC simply needs to be up front. The organization should coordinate an announcement with Garber that says Yankee Stadium is a temporary home and this is a temporary arrangement.

It should be noted that the National Women’s Soccer League puts a caveat on its field-of-play regulations by saying the 70 by 110 minimum is required “except where stadium design deems it unreasonable.”

That’s the perfect exception to apply in NYCFC’s case. Instead of being coy and evasive as an organization about a franchise-related fact that isn’t tops on the list of fan concerns, just acknowledge the truth. It looks rinky-dink to handle it as the team is.