Anti-gay chants force early end to US vs. Mexico soccer match

A soccer match between the U.S. men’s national team and Mexico was halted early Thursday night because of a homophobic chant from the crowd.

The raucous match saw the U.S. rout Mexico 3-0 in the CONCACAF Nations League semifinal at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. The match was halted in the 98th minute, four minutes before the end of the 12 minutes of stoppage time. CONCACAF is the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football.

“Concacaf strongly condemns the discriminatory chanting by some fans during the CNL Semifinal match between Mexico and the United States,” the organization said in a statement Friday. 

“Chants heard during the game led to the activation of the anti-discrimination protocol by the match officials. Additionally, security staff ejected several fans for engaging in unacceptable behavior in the stadium,” they added.

The anti-gay chant has been routinely used by Mexican fans at international and national games, despite efforts by soccer authorities to stamp it out.

The crowd made homophobic chants earlier in the match while U.S. goalkeeper Matt Turner lined up for a goal kick. In the 90th minute, referee Ivan Barton briefly paused the game over the chants, and the crowd was asked to stop chanting over the PA system.

When the crowd chanted again during Turner’s next goal kick in extra time, Barton called the match early.

Four red cards were handed out during the game, and multiple fights broke out in the crowd during and after the match. A majority of the crowd in the stadium supported Mexico.

The homophobic chant is common during opposing teams’ goal kicks in the Mexican soccer league. CONCACAF and the Mexican league, the Mexican Football Federation, have attempted to curtail the chant in recent years.

FIFA levied a $100,000 fine against the Mexican national team for homophobic chanting by the crowd during the World Cup.

U.S. interim coach B.J. Callaghan denounced the chants and backed his team, but he noted that two red cards will hurt the team in the upcoming tournament final.

“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. It has no place in our value system,” he said.

“There was moments on both teams that we could have handled better,” Callaghan added.

The U.S. will play Canada in the tournament final on Sunday.