San Diego FC’s first-ever home match was marred Saturday night by the repeated use of homophobic language by fans, leading the club’s head coach and sporting director to speak out after the match to call the chants “unacceptable” and “outside of our value system.”
The one-word, homophobic chants, which have been common in Mexican soccer for years, largely occurred late in San Diego’s 0-0 draw against St. Louis City SC. On three occasions, a segment of the 34,506 fans in attendance at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego were warned over video boards to discontinue their use of the chant.
“Discrimination has no place in our sport and in our stadiums and will not be tolerated,” the onscreen message read. “The fan chant that was used is offensive and we ask that fans do not continue to use this chant.”
The third and final warning to fans suggested the match might be abandoned if the chants continued. Snapdragon Stadium sits 20 miles from the U.S. border with Mexico.
San Diego FC coach Mikey Varas, who is bilingual, addressed the use of the chant in his postgame remarks, first in Spanish and then in English.
“The chant that was heard tonight is unacceptable,” Varas told reporters at the stadium. “It’s outside of our value system. It doesn’t represent the players, myself or the club, and it certainly doesn’t represent San Diego or Baja California. It’s not a reflection of who we are. We’re a community full of love, of support, and we believe in the power of diversity.”
Varas also suggested that the chant wasn’t performed by the club’s largest supporters group, La Frontera.
“This came from more the general population in the seats, and it wasn’t everybody,” Varas said. “I understand that, but it was enough people, and I just want to make very clear that it has no place here. If they’re going to continue to come to the game and make that chant, it’s better that they don’t come here.”
“It’s totally against who we are as a club and as people,” added San Diego sporting director and general manager Tyler Heaps. “One of our core values is to be a good person, and I think that’s what we’ll continue to stand behind. It’s totally unacceptable, and obviously, us as a club, we’ll make sure it does not continue into the future.”
Fans typically perform the chant during goal kicks by the opposing team, shouting the one-word slur as the keeper strikes the ball. The chant has long been used in Mexican football and the Mexican football federation has faced repeated scrutiny for the chant. In 2019, FIFA, global football’s governing body, introduced its own protocol aimed at eradicating the chant.
That protocol is fairly clear. The first time the chant is heard, the match is stopped and a warning is issued to fans in the stadium. The second occurrence of the chant results in play being stopped and both teams returning to their respective locker rooms. In the most severe of cases, the match can be abandoned.
The Mexican Football Federation has been fined multiple times for fans’ use of the chant, and Mexican fans who’ve engaged in it have forced repeated stoppages in play during matches between the U.S. men’s national team and the Mexican national team. In 2023, a Concacaf Nations League match between the two countries ended several minutes early after Mexican supporters refused to stop using the chant.
The chant is not commonplace in Major League Soccer, but the league has had sporadic struggles with it. The league’s two Los Angeles-based clubs — LA Galaxy and LAFC — have both spoken out against the chant, with the latter of those two teams mounting an organized effort to eradicate the chant from its matches.
GO DEEPER
Mexico federation’s ongoing struggles to combat homophobic chant
(Photo: Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images)