The United States’ victory over Mexico Thursday in a highly anticipated soccer match turned ugly before the final whistle blew. Mexico fans kept chanting anti-gay slurs at U.S. players, prompting officials to suspend the contest.
This is a pattern for Mexico fans. No matter how many times they’re warned, they keep chanting homophobic slurs.
The U.S. crushed Mexico 3-0 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas to advance to the CONCACAF Nations League final, but play was halted before the 90th minute due to homophobic chants. In addition, four players–two from the U.S. and two from Mexico–were ejected.
“In terms of the chant, I want to make it very clear first and foremost, for our beliefs and our culture, it has no place in the game,” U.S. interim coach B.J. Callaghan told reporters, via the Associated Press. “It has no place in our value system.”
CONCACAF–the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football–says several fans were ejected for engaging in “unacceptable behavior.”
Can confirm. On and off field. Mexico fans greatly outnumbered US and they lost by a lot. Crowd chanted slur and game had to be stopped. pic.twitter.com/swlesAJFmf
— Kim Passoth (@KimPassoth) June 16, 2023
For years, Mexico fans have chanted the word “puto“–a gay slur that’s banned by FIFA, soccer’s international governing body–during its team’s games. Just two months ago, fans shouted the slur at the U.S. Men’s National Team during a friendly in Arizona.
Last March, Mexico fans started chanting the word during the final minutes of a World Cup qualifier against the U.S. The match was held at Estadio Azteca in Mexico.
Prior to that, the Mexican Football Federation announced fans who chant gay slurs will be banned from stadiums for five years.
A couple of years ago, four LGBTQ+ soccer fans filed a lawsuit saying they were subjected to an onslaught of gay slurs when they attended a match between the U.S. and Mexico at Chicago’s Soldier Field in 2019. The men say they wore rainbow U.S. national team jerseys to celebrate Pride Month.
Mexico fans have shouted the slur at matches since at least 2014. In the lead-up to the 2018 World Cup, the Mexican soccer federation was fined nine times alone, in addition to 15 other national federations, for fans engaging in anti-gay behavior during matches.
Then in 2021, FIFA sanctioned Mexico’s men’s national soccer team after fans yelled the anti-gay slur at matches. During last year’s World Cup, FIFA opened two investigations into potentially anti-gay chants heard by Mexico fans during their matches.
So what is being done to stop this ugly phenomenon? Last May, the U.S. Soccer board of directors adopted a policy that says international teams won’t be permitted to play in the U.S. for a two-year period if their team’s fans engage in discriminatory chants.
As of Friday, CONCACAF officials said they’re “in the process of urgently establishing further details and reports from security and match officials” about what transpired in Vegas, per CNN.
The U.S., Mexico and Canada are slated to co-host FIFA’s men’s World Cup in 2026.
Scroll down for reaction to this ongoing behavior that happened again Thursday…
This is a massive black eye to the sport. I may be an American, but what fans of #ElTri did tonight on Vegas was absolutely classless. #ConcacafNationsLeague
— Stacy Albano — NASHVILLE-BOUND FOR NHL DRAFT 6/26! (@StacyAlbano) June 16, 2023
Concacaf needs to bring harsh penalties
— Nick (@nick309912) June 16, 2023
US has to stop letting them play friendlies in the US. Take that garbage elsewhere. CONCACAF have to step up the enforcement.
— Swamp Dragon (@swampdragonnj) June 16, 2023
Mexico should be forced to forfeit the 3rd place match at the least. Embarrassing from players and fans.
— John White (@jhaydenwhite) June 16, 2023
Mexico fans do this every single time they play. Get out of here with this “it’s been eradicated” nonsense
— Tristan Price (@tristanprice33) June 16, 2023
The powers that be (👀Concacaf, FIFA) need to start hitting @FMF with some big fines, that will get some decisive action very quickly on this problem
— Mac Wheeler (@Side_of_FriesGK) June 16, 2023
FIFA doesn’t have the balls to remove Mexico as a co-host of the World Cup which would be a massive statement.
— Jaxson Reid 🇯🇲 (@JaxsonReid2) June 16, 2023
Respectfully, it hasn’t largely been gone. Even at US women’s games against Mexico that I was pre-Olympics in 2021, I could hear it. It has been here and it has been especially prevalent in this fixture and no effort has silenced it.
— Jake Fenner (@jakefenner_) June 16, 2023
Chrisk
Kicking a ball around that you need to watch from a tv because you’re so far away. That and I get to sit next to a bunch of juvenile bigoted assholes. I can’t believe I’m missing out on all of that. 🙁
scotty
i’ve topped more Mexicans than a sombrero.
wooly101
boys will be boys
Kangol2
Make the sanctions harsher on the Mexican team (or any team whose fans are chanting homophobic, transphobic or racist crap, which is common in Europe) and the fans will get the message. As fort his game, it was sweet that the US won this one in a romp!
frapachino
“which is common in Europe” it’s common everywhere dude, but your need to single out Europe says a lot about you.
Fahd
Beer, sport, overwhelmingly male crowds in close quarters – sounds like the perfect recipe for a Let´s go Brandon¨ situation.
… maybe a combination of team fines and individual stadium bans -ringers in among the fans could identify ring leaders and with cameras, etc… and going so far as actually making teams play in empty stadiums (remember Covid). Loss of revenue might lead to teams coming up with innovative solutions.
Not everything worth doing is easily done, ridding sport of homophobia and racism is worth doing.