Heated duel between Mexico and U.S. halted after four reds and homophobic talking points

Four reds, nine yellow cards and a match that didn’t make it to the end because of homophobic talking points. The North American Nations League semifinal between the United States and Mexico (3-0) got completely out of hand.

The game in Las Vegas derailed in the second half after a rock-hard foul by Cesar Montes on U.S. rookie Folarin Balogun. The Mexican defender was immediately red and a riot ensued in which just about all the players got involved.

Amid all the pushing and shoving, American Weston McKennie grabbed Ajax defender Jorge Sánchez’s throat. That also cost McKennie a red card. The American midfielder’s shirt was torn to shreds by the Mexican.

At that point, by the way, it was already 2-0 for the US. Star player Christian Pulisic had accounted for the goals. FC Groningen striker Ricardo Pepi scored the third goal as a substitute ten minutes before time, on a pass from Sergiño Dest.

Former Ajax player Dest also received a red soon after, after an altercation with some Mexicans near the touchline, with cups of beer thrown from the stands flying around the players’ ears. Ajax midfielder Edson Álvarez was penalized with yellow and his teammate Gerardo Arteaga received red for attacking Dest.

The match had a high premiership level anyway. Feyenoord striker Santiago Giménez also received yellow as a substitute and Taylor Booth (FC Utrecht) remained on the bench.

BJ Callaghan, who was on the bench for the first time as interim U.S. national team coach, did not reproach his players. “This was a match with a lot of rivalry. You see that all over the world. So I’m not ashamed of anything.”

“Our players care a lot about each other and stand up for each other on the field. That comes from something good, although we also have to learn from this,” Callaghan said.

Due to numerous riots and injury treatment, injury time was no less than 12 minutes, but at the entry of extra time, referee Iván Barton of El Salvador halted the game due to homophobic speaking cries from the boxes of Mexican supporters.

Play resumed moments later, but in the eighth minute of injury time, Barton ended the game after homophobic chants could again be heard. The 3-0 interval was set as the result.

In a statement, the North American soccer federation Concacaf condemned the Mexican fans’ behavior. “Security guards have removed several supporters from the stadium due to unacceptable behavior. These incidents are very disappointing and have cast a pall over what should have been a positive evening to promote high-quality soccer in our region.”

The U.S. will play the final match on the night from Sunday to Monday (Dutch time) against Canada, which was too strong for Panama 2-0 in the semifinals. That country awaits a battle for the bronze in the Nations League against Mexico.