Sept 23 (Reuters) – Major League Soccer club Columbus Crew dismissed reserve team coach Federico Higuain on Tuesday after an accusation of sexism towards a female referee.
“Don’t forget, this is a man’s game,” was the offensive remark made, according to The Professional Soccer Referees Association (PSRA).
Higuain, the brother of former Argentina international Gonzalo Higuain, was sent off and handed a two-match suspension following the altercation at an August 23 game.
“We determined it’s in the best interest of our club, players and support staff to dismiss Federico Higuain from his responsibilities,” Columbus Crew General Manager Issa Tall said in a statement.
“After conversations this week and further assessing the past month, our club’s standards of what’s expected from a leader for one of our teams have not been met.”
The incident occurred during a match in MLS NEXT Pro, the developmental league affiliated with MLS.
Without naming him, the referees’ association said a male head coach squeezed a female official’s hand and refused to let go after she told him to stop, before making the sexist remark.
Columbus Crew did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Higuain. The 41-year-old attacker played in Argentina, Turkey and Mexico before joining Columbus Crew where he made more than 200 appearances.
The referees’ union criticised the initial two-match suspension as insufficient and called for a harsher sanction, saying female officials should not have to endure intimidation or discriminatory comments in the workplace.
(Reporting by Suramya Kaushik in Bengaluru; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
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