D.C. United is transferring towards a mutual termination of Taxi Fountas’ contract following an accusation that the ahead directed a racial slur towards teammate Nigel Robertha, sources confirmed to ESPN.
The Athletic was the primary to report the information. The sources requested anonymity as a result of they weren’t licensed to publicly talk about the matter. A league spokesperson declined to remark.
The allegation stems from an incident that occurred on July 15 in the course of the second half of a match between DCU and the New England Revolution.
Across the 67th minute, Fountas, who’s white, and Robertha, who’s Black, could be seen arguing. The disagreement carried into the locker room after the match, with Robertha allegedly putting Fountas with a foam curler, a tool generally used for treating muscle accidents, the Athletic reported.
Later, Robertha is reported to have instructed group officers that Fountas used the N-word, which the membership instantly communicated to league officers, leading to an investigation.
Fountas and Robertha have been initially positioned on administrative go away, though Robertha was reinstated on July 24. The outcomes of the investigation have not but been made public. Fountas stays on paid administrative go away.
That is the second time in 10 months that accusations of racist habits have been leveled at Fountas.
In a league match towards Inter Miami final Sept. 18, Fountas was alleged to have directed a racial slur at then-Miami defender Damion Lowe, which was overheard by Miami’s Aimé Mabika. A subsequent investigation carried out by MLS discovered Mabika’s allegation “credible” however as a result of it could not be corroborated, no high quality was issued to Fountas.
The Athletic reported that in a bid to clear his identify following the newest allegation, Fountas underwent and handed a polygraph check, the outcomes of which he handed on to the league. The accuracy of polygraphs has lengthy been debated, and usually are not thought-about to be conclusive proof that the topic is both mendacity or telling the reality.
Based on knowledge from the MLS Gamers Affiliation, Fountas, a Greece worldwide, is D.C. United’s third-highest-paid participant, with a assured compensation of $1.741m.
If Fountas’ contract is terminated, the corresponding wage finances house and Designated Participant spot can be freed up. However when it comes to discovering a alternative, DCU can be restricted to gamers out of contract because the summer time switch window closed on Aug. 2. League rosters are set to be frozen on Sept. 13.
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