The rout of USA versus Mexico 3-0 ended this Thursday in Las Vegas (USA) in an unfortunate way, since the repeated homophobic shouts in Spanish that were heard from the stands forced the game to end when there were still a few minutes to play.
This second semifinal of the Concacaf Nations League (the first was won by Canada 2-0 against Panama) faced the USA and Mexico in an Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas with a great atmosphere and 61,000 spectators in the seats, according to the American broadcast.
The homophobic yelling when the USA goalkeeper, Matt Turner, was going to kick the ball, they began to be heard in the first half, which led the stadium authorities to ask through the screens to stop the discriminatory insults.
that shameful conduct -which could be heard perfectly on the television broadcast- continued later and, when the clock marked the 89th minute and already with the score 3-0, the Salvadoran referee Iván Barton, following the protocol for these cases, momentarily stopped the match while the venue’s public address system asked the spectators to stop those screams .
Because the second half had been very abrupt and with constant confrontations between the players (there were four expulsions, two for each team), the referee declared a 12-minute discount.
read also
However, and when there were still several minutes left to finish that added time, the referee ended the game before the houragain following the protocol, when verifying that a large part of the spectators continued with the homophobic shouts.
The Concacaf Nations League will continue on Sunday, also in Las Vegas, with its final between the US and Canada and its third-fourth place match between Mexico and Panama.
Concacaf statement
Concacaf issued a statement after the match, saying it “strongly condemned” what it called “discriminatory chants.”
“The chants heard during the match led to the activation of the anti-discrimination protocol by the match referees. In addition, the security personnel expelled several fans for unacceptable behavior in the stadium,” reported the confederation that governs soccer in North America. , Central America and the Caribbean.
“These incidents were extremely disappointing and tarnished what should have been a positive opportunity to showcase high-quality football in our region,” the statement added.
Homophobic chants have long been a problem for the Mexican Soccer Federation, which has been repeatedly fined and urged fans to end the practice. The multiple fines imposed on Mexico amount to more than 650,000 dollars (around 593,000 euros) and the country was forced to play at home without its supporters against Jamaica in September 2021.
