US Level 2 (USL) football club San Diego Loyal walked off the pitch during their match on Wednesday against Phoenix Rising in reaction to an alleged homophobic slur towards one of its players. By walking off, Loyal forfeited the match and ended their chances of reaching the playoffs. In the past footballers and clubs have talked of walking off the pitch when confronted with homophobic or racist abuse but Loyal's proactive stance in a competitive match is a rarity. The alleged abuse was directed at midfielder Collin Martin with the Loyal leading 3-1 in the second-tier USL Championship. Martin came out as gay at Pride Day June 2018 while with Minnesota United. Loyal's manager, former US international Landon Donovan, was involved in a heated exchange with both the referee and Rising Phoenix coach Rick Schantz at half-time. Loyal's players returned after the break but walked off when the referee blew his whistle. Collin Martin brought the slur to the attention of the officials. Wednesday's incident comes after Loyal forfeited a match against LA Galaxy II last week after an alleged racial slur was aimed at another San Diego player. The Galaxy and the player accused of making the comment "mutually agreed to part ways" according to a statement from the club. In a postgame video statement posted to the Loyal's Twitter feed, Donovan said Martin had brought the homophobic slur to the fourth official's attention as the first half ended. "We went through a really hard incident last week in the LA match and we made a vow to ourselves, to our community, to our players, to the club, to USL, that we would not stand for bigotry, homophobic slurs, things that don't belong in our game," Donovan, who played for Everton in the EPL,said. "I know how hard it was for them to even take the field tonight given everything that happened, and then for it to happen again a week later was just devastating for me. "Our guys, to their immense credit, said we were not going to stand for this. They were very clear in that moment that they were giving up all hopes of making the playoffs, even though they were beating one of the best teams in the league. "They said it doesn't matter. There are things more important in life and we have to stick up for what we believe in. "If we want to be true to who we are as a club, we have to speak, and we have to act."
So what is offensive on the pitch (homophobic, racial, anti-sematic slurs ... )?
How should players/managers react, and what should be the penalty under the LOTG?
Is this just an overreaction and should just be brushed off?
So what is offensive on the pitch (homophobic, racial, anti-sematic slurs ... )?
How should players/managers react, and what should be the penalty under the LOTG?
Is this just an overreaction and should just be brushed off?