The match between the U.S. and Mexico men’s soccer teams ended on a sour note as fans during the game started chatting with anti-gay slurs.
The match was already a mess, with referees handing out four red cards as the two squads repeatedly got into wild skirmishes.
“It was a mess,” captain Christian Pulisic said via TMZ following the U.S.’s 3-0 victory. “But I was disappointed in the end. I really wish some of our guys kept their heads a little bit better. It just turned into something that wasn’t this beautiful game that we love.”
But things went from bad to worse, and it turned into an embarrassing scene for both teams when fans started with the nasty anti-gay slurs.
The officials stopped the game in the 89th minute when the chats continued. US goalie Matt Turner told reporters later that what took place “goes against everything that we stand for on our side.”
“We’ve been very vocal and open about the strength of our team being our diversity, the strength of our nation being its diversity,” Turner added. “So, to use something so divisive during a game, a spirited game — and maybe the play sort of set the flares off in the stands, but it has no place in the game.”
While it’s not unheard of to hear these things taking place at European soccer matches, this has to be the first to take place at an American soccer field, and it’s not a good look for America or the sport.
