Wealthy Graessle/Icon Sportswire by way of Getty Photos
MLS introduced Saturday it should open an investigation right into a racist comment that was allegedly made towards San Jose Earthquakes ahead Jeremy Ebobisse.
The league mentioned it is “conscious of an incident whereby a New York Purple Bulls soccer participant is alleged to have used language that violates league coverage.” MLS added it “has zero tolerance for abusive and offensive language and takes these allegations significantly.”
MLS Communications @MLS_PR
A press release from Main League Soccer: pic.twitter.com/KYGgKzlaU4
The Purple Bulls issued an announcement echoing the seriousness of the allegation and saying they are going to cooperate with the league’s investigation:
New York Purple Bulls @NewYorkRedBulls
The trade got here within the 54th minute and precipitated the motion in Saturday’s match to come back to a halt for practically 20 minutes. The referee added 21 minutes of stoppage time after the top of regulation.
“What’s vital for me to share is that I do know what I heard and the explanation why I felt, after a prolonged dialog, we must always proceed with the sport is as a result of the participant who mentioned the phrase claimed it was not geared toward any of us,” Ebobisse told reporters.
The 26-year-old mentioned he desires “to be as open as doable right here” because it pertains to the investigation and what it would uncover.
“There may be a number of uncertainty right here; I need to respect what is going to hopefully be a strong investigation,” he mentioned. “A tough state of affairs. I’m grateful I used to be with my teammates.”
The Earthquakes and Purple Bulls performed to a 1-1 draw. San Jose was holding on to a one-goal lead till Tom Barlow’s equalizer within the seventeenth minute of second-half damage time.
