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Flamengo’s U-17 team has withdrawn from the GA Cup and will not participate in Sunday’s third-place match, MLS NEXT announced Sunday.
A league source told ESPN that Flamengo made the decision to pull out of the tournament after their debatable semifinal against the Philadelphia Union. After the match, which the Union won 2-0, MLS NEXT tournament organizers announced they would open an investigation following allegations that either team engaged in misconduct in violation of tournament rules, adding the use of discriminatory language.
Rather than wait for the effects of the investigation, Flamengo informed MLS NEXT that it would not participate in Sunday’s third-place match.
In a statement released Sunday, Flamengo said the club “strongly repudiates what happened on Saturday, in Bradenton, during the semifinals of the Adidas U-17 Generation Cup, when some athletes of our team suffered racist insults. It is unacceptable that episodes like this are happening. Racism is a crime and will have to be seriously punished.
“After what happened, the club has filed a formal complaint with MLS and will not compete for 3rd place. There is no place for conditions like this or for any kind of prejudice, especially in sports initiation, when they are young people and adolescent adults. “
Later on Sunday, MLS NEXT released a statement saying its investigation was complete and that it had “issued suspensions in accordance with the MLS NEXT Disciplinary Code to Americans from any of the clubs for violating MLS NEXT’s Safety and Welfare Policy. “of minors, no additional major points related to Americans will be discussed. “
Sources familiar with the investigation told ESPN that allegations of discriminatory language by Philadelphia Union players towards their Flamengo counterparts may not be substantiated, however, one Union player had been suspended for aggravating the situation.
Flamengo’s suspensions and withdrawals come on several occasions when players from other groups used discriminatory language at the GA Cup, a youth tournament organized through MLS NEXT, the youth organization run by MLS. In addition to involving groups of MLS clubs, it also includes groups. from Mexico, Europe and South America.
Past incidents led to the New York Red Bulls withdrawing their U15 and U17 groups from the GA Cup, although the latter team had already been eliminated. MLS Next is the subsidiary of MLS that manages its youth competitions, adding the GA Cup. .
A league source told ESPN that in the match, a Flamengo player was sent off for receiving two yellow cards, and this was followed by a Flamengo assistant coach who won a red card at half-time for verbal abuse of a referee, albeit in this case. , So be it. Not to use a forbidden term.
After the match, a Flamengo player earned a red card after allegedly making discriminatory comments against the referee. Another Flamengo player did the same, but was not sanctioned.
MLS already has protocols in place for its league matches to address times when discriminatory language is used on the field, though those do not reflect what the protocol in place should be for matches organized through MLS NEXT. A review of this protocol through the MLS NEXT is underway.
In an earlier statement, MLS Next said it was “deeply involved and disappointed by the recent incidents of abuse against players on the field in several GA Cup matches this week. This behavior is absolutely unacceptable, it violates the festival’s regulations and our collective effort. to ensure a respectful and inclusive environment for all.
“Following any allegation, a trained professional will offer and provide prompt remedies to all involved. “
Sources told ESPN that foreign groups were briefed ahead of the tournament about what constituted prohibited or discriminatory language. One of those briefings was a one-on-one meeting between an MLS Next resurendant and a foreign team, as well as an upcoming meeting in which at least one reprovident from each team, domestic and foreign, provides along with MLS Next reprovidents.