Almost a month after an apparent racial incident at an MLS match between D.C. United and the New England Revolution, D.C. forward Taxi Fountas and his team have parted ways.
On July 15, Greek player Fountas had an altercation with teammate Nigel Robertha, who is Black, on the field in the 67th minute of the match. ESPN reports that the altercation continued all the way to the locker room and that it apparently let Robertha to hit Fountas with a foam roller.
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Team officials were told that Fountas used the n-word; Fountas was put on administrative leave along with his teammate, but Robertha was reinstated on July 24. In a statement posted Thursday, Major League Soccer said that the team and Fountas mutually agreed to terminate his contract. The league specifically mentioned racism in the statement.
A statement from MLS on Taxi Fountas. pic.twitter.com/SKjmpnVWog
— MLS Communications (@MLS_PR) August 10, 2023
“There is no place for racism, homophobia, misogyny, or discrimination of any kind in our sport and world and D.C. United does not tolerate any acts of this nature,” D.C. United said in a statement.
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Last year, Fountas was involved in a similar scandal when he denied using the same slur against a Jamaican player during a match against Inter Miami. The MLS investigated that incident and couldn't find enough evidence to take action; Fountas issued a denial on Instagram at the time, but it's no longer available on the social network.
In April, the league suspended Belgian player Dante Vanzeir of the New York Red Bulls for six games for using racist language during a match.