Arlington — The governing body for soccer in North, Central America and the Caribbean is calling on fans to stop using the hateful chants that disrupted the Nations League final in Arlington on Sunday night.
In the end, the United States defeated Mexico 2-0, but the game was stopped twice during the match due to homophobic chants by pro-Mexican fans. This is the second year in a row that something like this has happened at a game between the United States and Mexico.
The game was delayed by nearly five minutes in the 88th and 96th minutes because of the chants.
“We condemn the hateful chants during the final minutes of the Nations League final,” the North, Central American and Caribbean Football Confederation said in a statement.
The two teams played in front of approximately 60,000 spectators at AT&T Stadium.
Concacaf news agency said stadium security staff “identified and removed a significant number of fans.” Representatives from AT&T Stadium and the Arlington Police Department did not provide numbers or details to CBS News Texas about what that might look like.
CONCACAF said it has consistently urged fans to stop chanting through messages before and during events.
Last year's Nations League semifinal game between the United States and Mexico in Las Vegas was also canceled due to racist chants by fans.
“It is extremely disappointing that this issue continues to be an issue for some matches, especially as the next two years represent a huge opportunity to grow the sport in our region,” Concacaf said in a statement. “We continue to urge our fans to respect their opponents and all participants in the game and actively support their team.”
FIFA, world soccer's governing body, has repeatedly held Mexico's soccer federation accountable, including issuing fines for offensive chants.
Texas Latino Pride President Juan Contreras released the following statement in response to last night's events.
“Football is a global celebration of a community that includes athletes and fans of all backgrounds. Last night's incident included disturbingly homophobic chants that did not belong on or off the field. I Our organization supports CONCACAF and is disappointed that these regressive chants continue to be a public issue.''Problems occurred at some matches. ”
AT&T Stadium will host nine World Cup games in 2026, so this may not be the last time fans, players and soccer officials have to deal with this issue in Arlington.
