Topline
Referee Ivan Barton decided to end a U.S.-Mexico soccer match with roughly four minutes remaining, due to homophobic chants from Mexican fans in a tense contest that saw four players ejected.
Ricardo Pepi of the U.S. celebrates after scoring against Mexico in a match on Thursday night—a … [+]
Key Facts
The U.S. men’s national team faced off against Mexico in a match at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
Due to homophobic chants being repeatedly yelled from the stands by Mexico’s fans during goal kicks taken by U.S. players, referee Ivan Barton cut the match short despite there being roughly four more minutes in stoppage time remaining, according to sports media present at the match, including ESPN.
The match was first paused due to the chants in the 89th minute, but soon after it resumed, spectators taunted U.S. goalkeeper Matt Turner again with the anti-gay chant, and the referee called the game.
The match itself had been tense, with four players ejected—including Weston McKennie and Sergiño Dest from the U.S. team, as well as Mexicans César Montes and Gerardo Arteaga, according to ESPN.
The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf), which governs international soccer in North and Central America as well as the Caribbean, said in a statement it “strongly condemns the discriminatory chanting by some fans.”
The U.S. ultimately came away victorious, 3-1, in the slightly shortened match.
Crucial Quote
In its statement Friday, Concacaf said: “These incidents were extremely disappointing and tarnished what should have been a positive occasion to showcase high-quality football in our region.”
Key Background
The Mexican Football Federation has faced consequences over the anti-gay chant, which is typically yelled during opposing goal kicks, according to ESPN. Last year, FIFA, the global governing body of soccer, levied a $108,000 sanction against the Mexican organization for the fans’ chants at the 2022 World Cup. Mexico was also prohibited from having fans at two of its 2022 home World Cup qualifiers. The federation has tried public service announcements, posting messages on social media to deter the chant and pregame announcements from players. On Thursday, Concacaf announced it was relaunching an anti-discrimination campaign. Concacaf said the campaign will also coincide with “increased stadium security” at matches over the summer and “a more proactive approach to ejecting fans who engage in discriminatory chants.”
Tangent
This tumultuous end to the match adds to what has already been a whirlwind few months for the U.S. men’s national team. On Friday, the team announced it was rehiring Gregg Berhalter as its head coach. This comes months after Berhalter was ousted amid an investigation into accusations that he had physically abused his wife, according to the New York Times and other news organizations. Parents of U.S. player Gio Reyna, who are both prominent former soccer players for the U.S. men’s and women’s national teams, made the accusations after Reyna was publicly called out by Berhalter, who said he “was clearly not meeting expectations on and off the field,” but didn’t name Reyna specifically. The investigation concluded in March and cleared Berhalter of wrongdoing.
Further Reading
Referee ends USMNT rout over Mexico early amid anti-gay chants (ESPN)
These 11 U.S. Cities Will Host 2026 World Cup Games (Forbes)
Professional Soccer Is Coming To Brooklyn With Big Goals Ahead Of 2026 FIFA World Cup (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/willskipworth/2023/06/16/us-mexico-mens-soccer-match-cut-short-by-homophobic-chants-from-fans/