Educational program for Wagner
MLS bans German for racist insult
November 8, 2023, 9:39 a.m
German soccer professional Kai Wagner is said to have racially insulted former Bundesliga striker Bobby Wood. For this, the defender is now suspended from the US league MLS and subjected to an educational program. Wagner does not deny the insult and accepts the punishment.
The US soccer league has announced that Philadelphia Union’s German defender Kai Wagner will be suspended for three games. He was accused of racially insulting an opponent last week. This was former Bundesliga striker Bobby Wood, who is now scoring goals for the New England Revolution. Wagner, 26, is said to have hurled an anti-Asian insult at Wood, 30.
Wagner, who previously played in Germany for SSV Ulm, Schalke 04’s second team and Würzburger Kickers, was also ordered to take part in an educational program ordered by the league. He has already started this and, according to the league’s announcement, the left-back must “fully comply with a program led by a league-appointed expert in remedial practices.”
The suspension follows a complaint from Wood’s club Revolution on October 30, shortly after the first playoff game against Union on October 28. According to “The Athletic”, Wagner Wood, born in Honolulu, Hawaii, the son of an African American father and a Japanese mother, is said to have used racist insults in German. Wood understood the insult as he played professionally in Germany for a decade before MLS, including with Hamburger SV, 1. FC Union Berlin and Hannover 96. The specific words Wagner used were, as always, used by MLS such violations are not published.
Wagner takes “responsibility for the violation”
Wagner did not deny the racist insult. “In making this decision, MLS considered many factors, including Wagner’s immediate acceptance of responsibility for the violation, his willingness to engage in remedial action to repair the harm caused, and his cooperation with the league’s investigation,” the MLS said in a statement about the ban.
Wagner’s alleged anti-Asian insult came during several exchanges near the end of the game. The argument followed a foul by New England’s Giacomo Vrioni on Union’s Nathan Harriel in the 86th minute. Vrioni and Union’s José Andrés Martínez started the argument, then Wagner, Wood and other players from both teams got involved.
Wagner may not have to serve the entire suspension in Philadelphia because his contract expires at the end of the season. According to “The Athletic”, clubs from Germany and England are interested in the defender.