Alexi Lalas has weighed on homophobic chants during Sunday’s game between the USA and Mexico, as he admits to scratching his head over finding a solution to the problem.
The 53-year-old, former US defender subtweeted a post shared by the US soccer men’s national team on X announcing a halt during the CONCACAAF Nations League Final due to ‘discriminatory chanting’ led by Mexico fans after goalkeeper Matt Turner was targeted with slurs.
‘I don’t know what the answer is, but it seems like stopping the game for 5-minute punishments actually rewards the bad behavior of the crowd by giving them a power over what happens in the field,’ Lalas wrote.
In a separate post, he reflected on a fan suggesting that the slurs could stop if ‘you award a goal to the opposing team every time they chant (sic) them, (sick) they will stop.’
Lalas replied: ‘No, it will give offenders in the stands the power to influence the game. To many, that is more intoxicating than the score.’
Former US defender Alex Lalas is unsure how to tackle homophobic chants at future US games
Pro Mexico fans have been largely to blame for the slurs during CONCCAF games vs. the US
Sunday’s game in Dallas, Texas, was stopped twice in the late stages for the second straight year because of the homophobic chants.
Canadian referee Drew Fischer stopped play in the 88th minute of the US’ 2-0 win, played before a crowd of 59,471 at AT&T Stadium.
Play resumed after a four-and-a-half minute wait, and Fischer halted it again six minutes into stoppage time. Play restarted one-and-a-half minutes later and the match was played until conclusion in the ninth minute of added time.
‘CONCACAF condemns the discriminatory chanting,’ the regional governing body of North and Central America and the Caribbean said in a statement. ‘Security staff in the stadium identified and ejected a significant number of fans, and the referee and match officials activated the FIFA protocol. … It is extremely disappointing that this matter continues to be an issue at some matches.’
U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter and players were hit by debris while celebrating Gio Reyna’s goal that built a two-goal lead.
‘That was unfortunate because we want a really competitive game, we want a great atmosphere but we don’t want to get things thrown at us,’ Berhalter said. ‘It’s unsafe and someone can get hurt.’
The CONCACAF Nations League final between Mexico and the US was stopped twice, Sunday
Last year’s semifinal at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas was stopped by Salvadoran referee Ivan Barton in the eighth minute of a scheduled 12 minutes of stoppage time with the US ahead 3-0.
CONCACAF issued a statement the next day that it ‘strongly condemns the discriminatory chanting by some fans,’ which it said ‘has no place in our sport.’ The regional governing body did not appear to announce any disciplinary action.
The Mexican Football Federation last month challenged financial penalties totaling 100,000 Swiss francs ($114,000) imposed by FIFA for incidents at two games at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. FIFA imposed a 50,000 Swiss francs fine with an additional 50,000 francs to be spent on a campaign educating fans.
FIFA has repeatedly held the Mexican soccer federation responsible, handing out fines and closing stadiums for games after incidents in qualifying matches for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups and for Olympic qualifying.