Homophobic chants interrupt US-Mexico match
Racial taunts persist, Brazilian star Vinicius Junior said in tears
ARLINGTON, Texas — The U.S.-Mexico CONCACAF Nations League final match was suspended in the late stages for the second straight year because of homophobic chants by pro-Mexican fans.
Canadian referee Drew Fischer stopped play in the 88th minute of the United States’ 2-0 victory in Sunday night’s final, played before a crowd of 59,471 at AT&T Stadium.
Play resumed after a 4 1/2-minute wait, and Fischer halted it again six minutes into stoppage time. Play restarted 1 1/2 minutes later and the match was played until conclusion in the ninth minute of added time.
“CONCACAF condemns the discriminatory chanting,” the regional governing body of North and Central America and the Caribbean said in a statement. “Security staff in the stadium identified and ejected a significant number of fans, and the referee and match officials activated the FIFA protocol . ... It is extremely disappointing that this matter continues to be an issue at some matches.”
U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter and players were hit by debris while celebrating Gio Reyna’s goal that built a two-goal lead.
“That was unfortunate because we want a really competitive game, we want a great atmosphere but we don’t want to get things thrown at us,” Berhalter said. “It’s unsafe and someone can get hurt.”
Last year’s semifinal at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas was stopped by Salvadoran referee Iván Barton in the eighth minute of a scheduled 12 minutes of stoppage time with the U.S. ahead 3-0.
CONCACAF issued a statement the next day that it “strongly condemns the discriminatory chanting by some fans,” which it said “has no place in our sport.” The regional governing body did not appear to announce any disciplinary action.
The Mexican Football Federation last month challenged financial penalties totaling 100,000 Swiss francs ($114,000) imposed by FIFA for incidents at two games at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. FIFA imposed a 50,000 Swiss francs fine with an additional 50,000 francs to be spent on a campaign educating fans.
FIFA has repeatedly held the Mexican soccer federation responsible, handing out fines and closing stadiums for games after incidents in qualifying matches for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups and for Olympic qualifying.
ONE SKIN: Vinícius Júnior clenched his right fist and raised it high above his head after scoring at Mestalla Stadium, posing for a moment to make sure everyone noticed.
The symbolic gesture in early March came nearly a year after the Real Madrid forward was on that same field with tears in his eyes after being racially abused by some Valencia fans.
That incident sparked an outpouring of support for the Brazil forward, who is Black, and set off widespread calls for action by Spanish authorities and society in general.
At the time, many saw it as a turning point in the fight against racism in Spanish soccer.
But some 10 months later, Vinícius has continued to be subjected to racist abuse in Spain despite the initial uproar that accompanied the incident at Mestalla.
The Brazilian broke down in tears while talking about the insults ahead of Tuesday’s international friendly between Spain and Brazil that was originally set up under the theme “One Skin” following the racial abuse aimed at Vinícius last year.
“Things have gotten worse since the first time I denounced what happened to me,” Vinícius said. “Because people are not punished, they feel like they can keep saying things about the color of my skin to try to affect how I play. But they could try to do that in other ways, and I wouldn’t have a problem with that. I just want to play, and I want to be able to go to stadiums without anyone bothering me because of the color of my skin.”
The Spain-Brazil game will take place just days after a new wave of racist and hate insults targeted Vinícius in matches in Spain.
BARBOSA SUSPENDED: In Sao Paulo, Brazilian striker Gabriel Barbosa was suspended for two years on Monday following a doping fraud investigation.
The country’s Anti-Doping Sports Court of Justice voted 5-4 to punish Barbosa to April 2025.
He brought attention to himself by his erratic behavior during a surprise test on April 8, 2023, one day before Flamengo played the Rio de Janeiro state championship. Anti-doping officers who came to test players at the club training ground were largely ignored by Barbosa, who took his test hours after his teammates.
Barbosa’s lawyers argued his blood test at the time, which is considered a more effective test, proved he was clean, and added his unfriendly behavior toward the officers did not mean he tricked the test.
Flamengo said “there was no fraud, not even an attempted fraud.”