MLS said it would investigate the alleged use of racial slurs during Sunday’s game between Inter Miami and DC United, which included allegations that DCU forward Taxi Fountas directed the N-word to target the Inter Miami defender Damian Lowe.
“MLS has a zero tolerance for abusive and offensive language and we take these allegations very seriously,” an MLS spokesperson said in a statement to ESPN. “An investigation into this matter will commence immediately. More information will be provided upon completion of that investigation.”
A DC United spokesperson also released a statement, which read: “DC United is aware of allegations involving a player during a match against Inter Miami CF. The club will cooperate closely. working closely with Major League Soccer and Inter Miami to investigate the incident.”
Foundas released his own statement on his social media on Monday, denied the allegations and said he was saddened to be falsely accused.
“I did not use the word I am being accused of using,” Fountas wrote. “That despicable racial slur is one I denounce and do not use.”
The incident is said to have happened around the 59th minute of a 3-2 Win Miami. It follows a scuffle between Fountas and Lowe. Miami defender Aime Mabika then reacted angrily to Fountas. Referee Ismail Elfath warned both Fountas and Lowe about the incident, but then proceeded to speak to the captains of both teams as well as their respective managers, Inter Miami’s Phil Neville and DC United’s Wayne Rooney.
In response to a post-game question from a pool reporter, Elfath said neither he nor any other members of the executive team heard racial slurs used. After being delayed for a few minutes, the game continued, but Fountas was knocked down in the 66th minute.
Rooney said, “There is a complaint, I will definitely be investigated. I can’t say more.”
It was left to Neville to reveal the nature of the confrontation.
“We need to address an issue that may have been wiped out in the past, but we are a club that prides itself on our diversity and inclusion in our staff and supporters. , and there is no place for racism on a field or social football background,” Neville said in his post-game press conference. “A word that has been used unacceptable in society. It’s the worst word in the world.”
Miami defender DeAndre Yedlin later told a post-match videoconference that the players had informed Neville that they would not continue unless something happened to Fountas. Rooney soon made the decision to get rid of Foundations.
“We won, but at the end of the day it didn’t even look like a win because of that incredibly dark time, so now we’ll see what MLS does about that,” Yedlin said. “My eyes will be on that a lot. They have to act and take a stance and prove that it not only has no place in the game but also no place in society.”
