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Dante Vanzeir has taken a leave of absence from the New York Red Bulls after being accused of using offensive language during their match against the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday.
“It was brought to our attention during Saturday’s match that one of our players allegedly used a racial slur on the pitch,” the team said in a statement following an incident during Saturday’s match involving San Jose forward Jeremy Ebobisse. Ebobisse and other Earthquakes players accused Vanzeir of using a racial slur.
“I accept full responsibility for my actions. While I did not intend to cause any harm or offense with my language, I know that I did and for that I am deeply sorry. I will agree to any suspension, fine and counseling that is handed down by Major League Soccer and the club,” Vanzeir’s statement read.
Twenty-one minutes of stoppage time was added during Saturday’s 1-1 draw because of the incident as players nearly walked off the pitch as the referee tried to gain control of the situation. Vanzeir was not taken off the field by head coach Gerhard Struber despite the plea of players and opposing coach Luchi Gonzalez. There is a video where it appears as if Red Bulls goalkeeper Carlos Coronel gestured and informed Struber of the incident.
“What we saw … should not be part of the game … I know what I heard,” Ebobisse said after the game. “This is what it is to be Black in these situations. You can’t be wrong, you can’t overstep anything outside of what you know to be fact. You have to proceed with absolute caution, even in moments of hurt when you’re feeling rather powerless.”
Struber issued the following statement about his decision to not remove Vanzeir from the match:
“During our match on Saturday, I made a decision that I thought was best given the information I had at that moment.
“While there was a lot of uncertainty at the time, with the information that I now know, the right decision would have been to immediately remove Dante Vanzeir from the game.”
On Tuesday, Vanzeir addressed his teammates and announced he would be stepping away from the club until further notice. The league’s investigation into his actions is not complete, which means an official suspension has not yet been handed down. Vanzeir’s leave of absence and the league’s timeline to complete the investigation is unknown at this point.
How have previous scenarios been handled?
Unfortunately, you don’t have to look back too far for a similar example as D.C. United forward Taxiarchis Fountas was accused of using a racial slur during their match against Inter Miami in September of 2022. Fountas was withdrawn from that match by D.C. United manager Wayne Rooney but referee Ismail Elfath said, “No official heard any racist or abusive language. The VAR and AVAR also did not hear any such language and did check the incident.”
Fountas was not officially suspended by the league but D.C. United didn’t play him during the investigation. He was deemed eligible to play in the remainder of the season by the league since MLS couldn’t independently confirm what was said but with the club not making the playoffs, there were no additional games.
After recovering from a muscle injury, he has returned to a starting role for the club in 2023. There is a key difference as Fountas never admitted to using a slur while Vanzeir did.
What happens next?
Since the Red Bulls have already confirmed that Vanzeir won’t play for the foreseeable future, the next step is awaiting investigation results. There’s no timeframe on when those would come back, but with the league placing an emphasis on removing racism from the game of soccer, the results of the investigation will be closely watched.
Who replaces Vanzeir in the lineup?
Since the San Jose match was actually Vanzeir’s first league start, this is a bit of an easy one to answer. The Red Bulls have mainly used Cory Burke and Tom Barlow in attack. Burke has led the line as a solo striker and also partnered with Vanzeir against San Jose. Depth will certainly be hurt but Struber has options moving forward.
