San Diego FC coach Mikey Varas and sporting director Tyler Heaps expressed disappointment and anger after their club’s inaugural home match was marred in the second half by three occurrences of the homophobic chant frequently heard at the Mexican national team’s soccer matches.
The club uniformly decried the notorious one-word Spanish chant both during and after San Diego finished a scoreless draw with St Louis City on Saturday night at Snapdragon Stadium, which was packed with 34,506 fans celebrating the arrival of Major League Soccer’s 30th team.
Varas opened his postmatch news conference by condemning the fans who made the chant despite repeated warnings against it on the scoreboard and over the public address system. Varas delivered his statement in both Spanish and English.
“The chant that was heard tonight is unacceptable,” Varas stated. “It’s outside of our value system. It does not represent the players, myself, or the club, and neither San Diego nor Baja California are represented. We are not reflected in it. We’re a community full of love, of support, and we believe in the power of diversity.”
Varas emphasized that the chant wasn’t made by San Diego FC’s main supporter section, the group known as 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 it very clear that it has no place here.
They shouldn’t come here if they intend to continue attending games and chanting. During a goal kick by an opposing goalkeeper, fans typically use the one-word slur, which is common in Mexico’s club soccer and national team soccer. It’s also become a regrettable staple in the Mexican national team’s matches in the US.
Fifa has issued numerous fines to the Mexican national team for the conduct of its fans in response to the chant, which has resulted in both game interruptions and match reductions between El Tri and the United States national team in recent years. The chant still goes on, and it looks like it will be a problem at the North American World Cup in 2026, which will have 13 matches in Mexico.
“It’s completely against our values as a club, as well as who we are as people,” Heaps stated. “One of our core values is to be a good person, and I think that’s what we’ll continue to stand behind. It is completely unacceptable, and, as a club, we will prevent its continuation.