USA vs Mexico: four red cards, thrown beer and homophobic chants

USA's Sergino Dest clashes with Gerardo Arteaga of Mexico Photo: AP/John Locher

International match between Mexico and the United States — two countries -hosts of the 2026 FIFA World Cup — were interrupted by chaos on Thursday due to repeated homophobic chants.

FIFA has already fined Mexico more than $100,000 for homophobic chants during last year's World Cup and after issuing four red and eight yellow cards, referee Ivan Barton ended the match with four minutes left after the offensive chants continued.

He was first stopped in the 89th minute due to chants, but with the States leading 3-0 in Las Vegas and then allowed less than eight of the 12 minutes of stoppage time after the chant resumed.

There were several other flashpoints earlier in the game, with fans throwing beer on the pitch and Weston McKenny's shirt being torn.

Both teams finished the match with only nine players behind McKenney, Sergino Desta, Cesar. Montes and Gerardo Arteaga were fired.

In the past, Mexican fans regularly yelled homophobic chants, usually directed at the opposing goalkeeper when they kicked, despite pre-match calls to stop this from both the players and the national football federation.

There were several clashes between both groups of players during the game, which the US won comfortably. Photo: Getty Images/Louis Grasse Plastic beer glasses rain down from the stands. Photo: USA Today/Lucas Peltier

The Concacaf, the regional governing body, said the match was stopped at «the discretion of the referee» and will now launch an investigation. It comes at a particularly delicate moment for Mexican football, with stadiums in Mexico City, Monterrey and Guadalajara scheduled for World Cup matches three years from now.

“Concacafe strongly condemns discriminatory chants from some fans,” the statement said. .

“The shouting heard during the game led to the activation of the anti-discrimination protocol by the match officials. In addition, several fans were kicked out by the security staff for unacceptable behavior in the stadium.

«These incidents were extremely disappointing and tarnished what should have been a positive occasion for showcasing high-quality football in our region.»< /p>

In April, US Soccer introduced a new policy where teams could be banned international games in the US in response to discriminatory cries.

This was BJ Callaghan's first match as acting US coach, and he seemed to justify the behavior of the players. “These are competitive games. It's a derby,» he said. «Things like this happen all over the world and it doesn't bother me in any way.»

Christian Pulisic has previously scored twice to take his tally to 25 in 59 international matches, but the United States will be left without McKenny and Destination on Sunday the final of the CONCACAF Nations League against Canada.

«I'm upset the game shouldn't have turned into this,» Pulisic said. “We no longer expect this to happen. Now we are missing two good players for the final.”