Ex-Arsenal star Folarin Balogun receives vile racial abuse after scoring at Copa America
Former Arsenal striker Folarin Balogun was racially abused following USA's defeat to Panama at Copa America. The Stars and Stripes were beaten 2-1 with Juventus star Timothy Weah shown an early red card.
Balogun, gave USA an early lead in front of the home crowd - but their lead was overturned by Panama's Cesar Blackman. Jose Farjado scored the winner late on for Panama.
The US Soccer Federation has given a stern response to racial abuse on social media directed against United States Men's National Team (USMNT) stars following defeat at Copa America, declaring that there is "no place in the game" for discrimination.
After defeat at Group C match against Panama, players including Weah and Balogun became the target of racial slurs. Balogun took to his Instagram as he posted screenshots of derogatory messages he had received from social media users in the wake of the loss. The striker was taunted with monkey emojis before another similarly vile message.
In their statement, the federation said: "U.S. Soccer is aware of and deeply disturbed by the racist comments made online and directed at several of our Men's National Team players following tonight's match. There is absolutely no place in the game for such hateful and discriminatory behavior."
"These actions are not only unacceptable but also contrary to the values of respect and inclusivity that we uphold as an organization," they continued, reinforcing their stance. "U.S. Soccer stands firmly against racism in all forms and will continue to support our players."
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Tim Weah of United States received racist abuse on social media following his country's loss to Panama at Copa America
Reflecting on his red card incident, Weah said: "A moment of frustration led to an irreversible consequence, and for that, I am deeply sorry to my teammates, coaches, family and our fans. Moving forward, I am committed to learning from this experience, not allowing an opponent to provoke me, and working to regain the trust and respect of my team and supporters."
"No matter what I will always fight for my team and my country till the day I'm no longer needed or capable to! I sincerely apologize to everyone My love for this team goes beyond just football and I'm so sad and angry at myself for putting my brothers through what they went through tonight."
Head coach Gregg Berhalter spoke about the incident, defending his player: "Tim got bumped, he got checked, and he reacted. He apologized to the group and I think he understands what a difficult position he put the group in. He's an ultimate team player. He stood up and he took accountability for it right away and we'll move on."
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