Football match suspended after anti-gay chants directed at US goalkeeper Matt Turner
Matt Turner #1 of United States prior to the CONCACAF Nations League Final match against Mexico at AT&T Stadium on March 24, 2024 in Arlington, Texas. (Shaun Clark/ISI Photos/Getty Images)
A football match had to be suspended after anti-gay chants were hurled at US goalkeeper Matt Turner.
The referee stopped play during Sunday’s (24 March) Nations League clash between the US and Mexico twice following homophobic chants being aimed at Turner.
Turner, who is married to former New England Patriots cheerleader Ashley Herron, also plays in Premier League for Nottingham Forest.
With the US leading 2-0, Mexican fans at the game in Texas were heard to chant “p**o” the masculine form of p**a, meaning prostitute. The term is often used as a slur against people who are gay, but in Spanish it can also mean “f****t”.
The “goalkeeper chant” typically sees Mexican fans chant “ehhh…” as the opponent’s keeper lines up a goal kick, followed by a cry of “p**o.”
Following unsuccessful calls over the stadium loudspeakers for the homophobic chants stop, referee Drew Fischer was forced to halt the game for almost five minutes, the Daily Mail reported.
Just before full-time, Fischer had to stop the game, which the US finally won, for a second time.
In 2021, players left the field for 10 minutes during a second leg of a Concacaf Champions Cup semi-final in Mexico City, following similar scenes, and, at the end of last year, Luton Town were fined £120,000 by the Football Association after their fans participated in homophobic chanting.
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