SAN DIEGO (AP) — San Diego FC coach Mikey Varas and sporting director Tyler Heaps expressed disappointment and anger after their club’s inaugural home match was marred in the second half by three occurrences of the homophobic chant frequently heard at the Mexican national team’s soccer matches.
The club uniformly decried the notorious one-word Spanish chant both during and after San Diego finished a scoreless draw with St. Louis City on Saturday night at Snapdragon Stadium, which was packed with 34,506 fans celebrating the arrival of Major League Soccer’s 30th team.
Varas opened his postmatch news conference by condemning the fans who made the chant despite repeated warnings against it on the scoreboard and over the public address system. Varas delivered his statement in both Spanish and English.
“The chant that was heard tonight is unacceptable,” Varas said. “It’s outside of our value system. It doesn’t represent the players, myself or the club, and it certainly doesn’t represent San Diego or Baja California. It’s not a reflection of who we are. We’re a community full of love, of support, and we believe in the power of diversity.”
Varas emphasized that the chant wasn’t made by San Diego FC’s main supporter section, the group known as La Frontera.
“This came from more the general population in the seats, and it wasn’t everybody,” Varas said. “I understand that, but it was enough people, and I just want to make very clear that it has no place here. If they’re going to continue to come to the game and make that chant, it’s better that they don’t come here.”
The one-word slur is typically made by fans while an opposing goalkeeper takes a goal kick, and it regularly occurs in both club soccer and national team soccer in Mexico. It’s also become a regrettable staple in the Mexican national team’s matches in the U.S.
The Mexican national team has been fined repeatedly by FIFA for its fans’ behavior regarding the chant, which has forced both stoppages in play and the shortening of a match between El Tri and the U.S. national team in recent years. The chant nevertheless persists, and it seems likely to be an issue at North America’s 2026 World Cup, which will feature 13 matches in Mexico.
“It’s totally against our values as a club, but also who we are as people,” Heaps said. “One of our core values is to be a good person, and I think that’s what we’ll continue to stand behind. It’s totally unacceptable, and obviously us as a club, we’ll make sure it does not continue into the future.”
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/soccer
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