- CONCACAF condemns chants
- Match was halted before being ended prematurely
- Mexico fined in January for continued incidents
WHAT HAPPENED? The chant was heard multiple times during Thursday's match, which ended as a 3-0 win for the USMNT, with referee Ivan Barton halting the game due to the chants. The match resumed after a few minutes with 12 minutes of stoppage time on the clock, but Barton ended the game after just eight minutes after the chants resumed. According to CONCACAF, though, the match was not abandoned because of the crowd.
The chant continues to be a problem for Mexico, who were fined< 100,000 Swiss francs ($108,000) by FIFA in January.
On the field, the match was also a fierce one, with both sides seeing two players sent off for several melees, with fans throwing beer onto the field at multiple points.
WHAT THEY SAID: "Concacaf strongly condemns the discriminatory chanting by some fans during the 2023 Concacaf Nations League Semifinal match between Mexico and the United States," the federation said in a statement.
"Chants heard during the game led to the activation of the anti-discrimination protocol by the match officials. Additionally, security staff ejected several fans for engaging in unacceptable behavior in the stadium.
"These incidents were extremely disappointing and tarnished what should have been a positive occasion to showcase high quality football in our region.
"The Confederation is in the process of urgently establishing further details and reports from security and match officials and will make a further statement in short order."
THE BIGGER PICTURE: CONCACAF and the FMF have struggled to stop the chants, which have continued despite any effort put forth by the federations.
The Mexican federation has made several attempts to eradicate the chant in recent years through public service announcements, social media campaigns and pregame announcements from players on both teams.
CONCACAF, meanwhile, has put together three-step process, one that has rarely been adhered to. After one instance, the referee is meant to halt the match with an announcement made asking fans to stop. A second instance would see the referee send players to the locker room for some period of time, while a third chant would see the match abandoned.
WHAT NEXT FOR THE USMNT AND MEXICO? Following their win, the U.S. will face Canada in the Nations League final on Sunday while Mexico will take on Panama in the third-place game.
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