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Major League Soccer is reviewing a complaint it received from the New England Revolution, alleging Philadelphia Union defender Kai Wagner used a racial slur towards rival striker Bobby Wood.
The alleged slur is said to have occurred in the 88th minute of Saturday’s MLS Cup Playoff match, when the pair convened during a break in play for a VAR check.
In a statement to The Athletic, the league said: ‘MLS is aware of the allegation that a player used discriminatory language toward an opposing player, and a review of the matter is underway.’
Sources told The Athletic the slur Wagner allegedly used was one historically used at Asian people.
Kai Wagner (second right) is alleged to have made a racist slur at Bobby Wood (right) during their game on Saturday. The players are pictured above in an earlier incident during the game
Wagner (right) is now being investigated by the league over the alleged incident on Saturday
Wood, a former striker for the United States men’s national team, is of African American and Japanese descent, while the 26-year-old Wagner is German.
From 2007-2021, Wood spent his youth career and the first dozen years of his professional journey in Germany.
At the time of the alleged incident, Wood is seen speaking briefly speaking with Wagner, then charging over to referee Pierre-Luc Lauziere to animatedly inform him of something.
Lauziere doesn’t take any immediate action, although a shoving match involving Wagner and one of Wood’s teammates takes place a minute after Wood spoke to the referee.
The game resumed as normal, and it appears both the Revolution and Union coaching staffs were not made aware of the alleged incident until after the game was completed.
Taxi Fountas was released by DC United earlier this year after a second racism storm
The MLS, nor either club, has made a public statement about the alleged incident.
It is not the first alleged racism incident to cloud the league this season, after New York Red Bulls’ Dante Vanzeir was suspended six games for using racist language during a game against the San Jose Earthquakes.
San Jose striker Jeremy Ebobisse alleged a Red Bulls player used a racial slur early in the second half of a 1-1 draw on April 8 at Red Bull Arena. A scuffle broke out among players and caused a lengthy delay.
Ebobisse, who is Black, did not name the player, but a league investigation resulted in a ban for Vanzeir, who also apologized to his teammates over the incident.
NYRB forward Dante Vanzeir returned to the field in May following a six-game suspension
There was a separate incident during a game between DC United and Inter Miami, with Wayne Rooney and Phil Neville – then the managers of the respective teams – forced to step in.
DC United forward Taxi Fountas was accused of racially abusing Inter Miami defender Damion Lowe during a second-half scuffle.
Months later, Fountas was once again embroiled in a racism storm when he was accused of a slur against his teammate Nigel Robertha.
In the days that followed, Fountas had his contract with DC United mutually terminated and he now plays in Turkey with Trabzonspor.
