To say things went from bad to enough for the USMNT tonight won’t be enough. Mere hours ago, Gregg Berhalter’s side endured a shocking 2-1 loss against Copa America Group C rivals Panama. But the outcome of Matchday 2 has seen the Star and Stripes’ star players, Folarin Balogun and Chris Richards, become the subject of racism and online abuse from infuriated netizens. Coming in to handle the matter for them is US Soccer, who are ‘deeply disturbed’ by the incident.
Firstly, Chris Richards took to Instagram stories and shared a screenshot of a comment from a user named @jda222villa on a post that was shared by the Crystal Palace defender following Bolivia’s victory. Following the loss, the user tagged Richards in that post and wrote, “Disgrace to the country…should go be a fairy blackie.” In response, the 26-year-old posted the screenshot on his story and wrote, “👍🏻👍🏻noted.”
This didn’t settle with the USMNT, who quickly came to address the matter on X: “U.S. Soccer is aware of and deeply disturbed by the racist comments made online and directed at several of our Men’s National Team players following tonight’s match. There is absolutely no place in the game for such hateful and discriminatory behavior. These actions are not only unacceptable but also contrary to the values of respect and inclusivity that we uphold as an organization. U.S. Soccer stands firmly against racism in all forms and will continue to support our players.”