New York Red Bulls supporters walked out of the club’s match in Harrison, New Jersey, on Saturday as the team battled to a 1-1 draw against the Houston Dynamo.
The protest occurred after Major League Soccer suspended and fined Dante Vanzeir for using racist language toward San Jose Earthquakes strike Jeremy Eboisse. The player alleged that a Red Bulls player used a racial slur during their match on April 8, causing a scuffle and a delay.
Vanzeir took responsibility for his language and was banned for six matches.
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The Vikings Army, Empire Supporters Club and Torcida 86 announced ahead of Saturday’s match against the Dynamo they would stage a walkout in protest of what they believed was inadequate and lenient discipline of Vanzeir.
"The South Ward is unified in our desire to protest in reaction to the racial abuse that occurred during the match on April 8th, as well as the inadequate response put forward by the New York Red Bulls and Major League Soccer," the groups said in a joint statement Friday. "It is the position of the South Ward that we will not provide active, in-stadium support at Red Bull Arena until Dante Vanezir and (Red Bulls manager) Gerhard Struber are justly punished and held accountable."
The groups said MLS didn’t live up to his "zero-tolerance policy" when it came to punishing racial actions and called on the organization to sack Struber immediately.
The Empire Supporters Club released a separate statement calling for the dismissal of Struber as well.
"We also feel the lack of punishment for Gerhard Struber is unacceptable," the supporters group said. "His inability to take accountability for his mistakes continues to be a reoccurring frustration. We stand with our players, past and present, as well as staff, on the sporting and non-sporting sides, who have had the misfortune to deal with his behavior. We do not believe that Gerhard Struber is fit to remain as manager of our beloved club and cannot in good conscious continue to support a team led by him. His lack of understanding, concern, personal responsibility, and empathy in this situation is inexcusable. For the betterment of the entire New York Red Bulls organization, especially our diverse roster who come from all walks of life, we call for Jochen Schneider to dismiss Gerhard Struber immediately."
As the match got underway on Saturday, the groups called on their supporters to clear out.
As for the match, Omir Fernandez scored late in the second half to tie the match at one apiece. Dynamo’s Adalbero Carrasquilla put Houston up in the 67th minute initially.
The Red Bulls hit the road to play Montreal next weekend. Houston goes back home to host Inter Miami.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
