Sunday’s CONCACAF Nations League final between the United States and Mexico at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver was briefly suspended due to anti-gay chants in the stadium.
As the match was coming to a close in the second half during stoppage time, the chants were heard from the crowd and the officials asked them to stop. But the unruly fan behavior didn’t end there.
Christian Pulisic ended up scoring the game winner with a penalty kick in the 114th minute, and in the 124th Mexico’s chance at an equalizer via a penalty kick was stopped to secure the 3-2 win.
After Pulisic’s goal, U.S. midfielder Giovanni Reyna was struck the face with an object as fans threw cups and water bottles on the field.
“Total lack of respect for what’s happening on the field and all effort that both teams are putting into the game,” U.S. manager Gregg Berhalter said. “I think he’s going to be OK, but he did take something to the head, and it could have been a lot worse.”
A fan was also tackled by stadium security after he ran on the field near the match’s end.
Mexico’s Nations League semifinal match against Costa Rica on June 3 was also stopped over homophobic chants. Stadium security threw out several fans for chanting even after they were warned.
The referee stopped the match for three minutes, which is part of CONCACAF’s anti-discrimination protocol.
