Kai Wagner practices with Union despite allegations he used racial slur

Kai Wagner was on the field as a normal participant in Tuesday’s Union practice while Major League Soccer investigates a claim he used racist language toward an opposing player in Saturday’s playoff opener against New England.

That meant MLS did not order him off the field while the investigation is ongoing, nor did the Union voluntarily take him off the field.

The Athletic reported Monday night that Wagner allegedly used an anti-Asian slur toward Revolution forward Bobby Wood, a Hawaii native of Japanese and African American descent; and that Wagner spoke in his native German, a language Wood knows well from having played in Germany for many years.

One source with knowledge of how the proceedings are set up told The Inquirer that the investigation is still in its fact-finding stage, and that while that stage is ongoing, Wagner is not prevented from doing anything with the Union.

How long the fact-finding or any other part of the investigation will take is unknown. The Union’s next game is Game 2 of their playoff series, Nov. 8 at New England’s Gillette Stadium (7 p.m., FS1, Fox Deportes, Apple TV).

The specific language alleged to have been used has not been reported. When it comes to such incidents in MLS, it traditionally is not reported unless someone directly involved reveals it.

» READ MORE: Kai Wagner is reportedly accused of using a racist slur in the Union’s last game

What is known

In the 86th minute of Saturday’s game, New England’s Giacomo Vrioni knocked over the Union’s Nathan Harriel near midfield as Harriel passed the ball forward to Quinn Sullivan.

After the play went down the field and Sullivan’s cross went through the 18-yard box, referee Pierre-Luc Lauzière was alerted that Harriel was still down, and stopped the action.

A fracas ensued during the stoppage, first with the Union’s José Andrés Martínez and Vrioni, then growing to include other players from both teams. Wagner and Wood were among those players, and soon started exchanging words as Lauzière tried to separate the teams.

More than three minutes passed before play resumed, between many arguments and the video review officials looking at whether any red cards were warranted. At one point during the stoppage, during the 88th minute, Vrioni and Wood spoke at length to Lauzière and pointed at someone.

As the players finished, Wood pointed at his head before being escorted away by a teammate.

Lauzière took no further action. The Athletic reported that New England coaches, not just players, “alerted match officials” about Wagner’s alleged language, and that the incident was mentioned in Lauzière’s postgame report. Referees’ postgame reports are not made public.

» READ MORE: Union kick off playoff series vs. New England with a 3-1 win at home

Responses

An MLS spokesperson declined comment beyond the league’s official statement: “MLS is aware of the allegation that a player used discriminatory language toward an opposing player, and a review of the matter is underway. The league has been working with the MLS Players Association and Black Players for Change on a process to address these types of allegations and will have no further comment during the pendency of the review.”

Spokespeople for the Union and Revolution declined comment, deferring to the league. Spokespeople for the MLS Players Association and Black Players for Change were contacted for comment Tuesday afternoon and had not returned the requests when this article was published.

A spokesperson for the Professional Referees Organization was reached and took questions from The Inquirer to pass along to other people in the organization, and had not sent back answers when this article was published.

A spokesperson for the Professional Soccer Referees Association, the referees’ union, told The Inquirer that the union is cooperating with the league’s investigation, which may involve interviewing the match officials. That is standard procedure.

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Past precedents

There are a few past precedents to measure the Wagner incident against, although none is really the same — mainly because the past incidents seemingly had more evidence and/or witnesses in the moment than this one.

In September of last year, D.C. United’s Taxi Fountas was accused by Inter Miami’s Aimé Mabika of using a racist slur toward Miami’s Damion Lowe (now of the Union), who is Black, during a game.

Enough people on both teams were told of the incident during the game that the action was stopped, and then-United manager Wayne Rooney voluntarily subbed Fountas out of the game. The next weekend was a FIFA window, so Fountas went to Greece’s national team and stayed there through the end of the regular season.

When MLS concluded its investigation in late October, it said that Fountas “voluntarily remained separated” from United for those games he missed, and that while the allegation “was credible … the league investigation could not independently verify the allegation.”

This past July, Fountas was accused of using a racist slur toward teammate Nigel Robertha, who is Black, in the locker room after a game at New England. That incident had ample witnesses, and in August, D.C. United and Fountas mutually terminated his contract.

» READ MORE: Kai Wagner made two big-time plays in what could have been his last home game with the Union

This past April, the New York Red Bulls’ Dante Vanzeir was accused of using a racist slur toward the San Jose Earthquakes. Many players heard it. One of them, Red Bulls goalkeeper Carlos Coronel (a former Union player), was seen on the broadcast seemingly asking his manager, Gerhard Struber, to remove Vanzier from the game, but Struber declined to.

Vanzeir later confessed, and on the Tuesday following the Saturday game, the Red Bulls announced he was stepping away from the team. Two days after that, MLS suspended Vanzeir for six games, fined him, and ordered him to undergo a series of training programs.

Wagner is out of contract after this year, and had been locked in a pay dispute with the Union that seemed to be headed for his exit as a free agent. Though many fans had wanted the team to give him a raise and keep him here, the tone changed after the allegations were reported.

This is the first time Wagner has been accused of using discriminatory language in his four years with the Union. The last prominent instance involving a Union player was in 2018, when Fafà Picault was suspended three games for using a homophobic slur in a preseason closed-door scrimmage.

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