New York Red Bulls striker Dante Vanzeir ‘steps away’ after racial slur

April 12 – New York Red Bulls forward Dante Vanzeir (pictured) has taken a step back from playing for Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise New York Red Bulls “to avoid distractions” following his use of a racial slur in the match with San Jose Earthquakes.

The Belgian striker, who arrived this season from Brussels-based club Union St Gilles on a record fee of €5 million, had apologised for his behaviour, indicating that he’d accept the consequences. On Tuesday the New York Red Bulls said: “Dante Vanzeir addressed his teammates this morning and, to avoid further distractions, will step away from the club until further notice.”

The incident occurred during the 54th minute of the match. San Jose forward Jeremy Ebobisse made the accusations without specifying who the source of the remarks was after the match.

Red Bulls head coach Gerhard Struber expressed regret that he did not substitute Vanzeir immediately after the incident. “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,” said Struber.

The MLS launched an investigation and issued a statement saying that “MLS has zero tolerance for abusive and offensive language and takes these allegations seriously.”

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