Disgraced Red Bulls forward Dante Vanzeir returns to the field following a six-game suspension and $10,000 fine for racial slurs as New York CF beat Montreal 2-1
- Vanzeir called an umpire a “monkey” at the end of a game early in the season
- His teammates unanimously agreed to let him rejoin the squad
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New York Red Bulls forward Dante Vanzeir took to the field for the first time since receiving a six-game suspension for a racist comment.
Earlier this season, Vanzeir admitted to calling an umpire a “monkey” during a game against the San Jose Earthquakes. In addition to the six-game suspension, he was also fined $10,000.
The Belgian striker meant it ‘in the sense of a clown, dummy’ after disagreeing with an on-pitch call-up.
Speaking to Sporza, 25-year-old Vanzeir – the Red Bulls’ record signing who only joined the team in February, said: “I’ll tell you exactly how it went.”
‘The referee blows his whistle for a foul, after which I argue with him. Afterwards I am still grumbling to myself about the ref. I then said monkey, but in the sense of clown, dummy. Because I thought he made the wrong decision.’
NYRB forward Dante Vanzeir returned to the field following his six-game suspension for racism
Vanzeir admitted calling a referee a monkey at the end of a game earlier this season
The 25-year-old says he wants to restore his reputation and continue playing for Red Bulls
“It didn’t even occur to me that that word would be insulting to one of my opponents. I grumbled to myself and misjudged the impact of that word. In our language, that word is often used with an intention that is not racist at all.’
At the time, he was believed to have mentioned it to Earthquake striker Jeremy Ebobisse, who said he heard the comment as the team left the field, but did not believe the comment was directed at himself.
The incident sparked major strikes from Red Bull supporters over how former head coach Gerhard Struber handled the delicate situation as it unfolded in real time.
However, Vanzeir’s teammates voted unanimously for his return prior to the game.
“Yes, I would say it’s been a process,” head coach Troy Lesesne said Friday. “It’s been a very long process for Dante, for our club, for our supporters. The process is not done by the reintegration this weekend.’
Red Bulls fans protested the team and now ex-coach, Gerhard Struber, for handling the situation the moment it arose.
Fans were unhappy with Struber’s perceived lack of action when the incident happened
“In terms of his trial, what I’d like to talk about is that the trial started with Dante, number one. Dante did a really good job admitting the mistake, admitting the mistake, acknowledging it was a big mistake.”
There were consequences that followed for himself, for our club, for our supporters, for San Jose. There were many parties involved and he took ownership, maybe not right away, but very soon after to start this process of healing.”
As for the game itself, Vanzeir had minimal impact after coming on for Corey Burke in the 67th minute.
During his 23 minutes of play, Vanzeir completed 62.5 percent of his passes and not a single shot was fired.