- Red Bulls U-17 claims it was the victim of a few racist incidents during the tournament
- Both Red Bull’s U-17 and U-15 teams have withdrawn from the Generation Cup
- DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news
The New York Red Bulls’ U-15 and U-17 academy teams are withdrawing from the Adidas Generation Cup following players’ claims that MLS organizers showed an “extreme lack of action” in response to two separate racist incidents that games took place on the field.
The latest alleged incident reportedly took place on Thursday, when U-1 Red Bulls defender Eric Tai was allegedly subjected to racist abuse by a member of Hajduk Split from Crotia.
The Athletic reports that the referee sent the player accused of racism off the field. Days earlier, goalkeeper Joshua Grant claimed he was racially abused by a CF Monterrey player.
“What happened in the last two games is completely inappropriate and has changed our team forever,” the Red Bulls U-17 players said in Thursday’s statement.
“The extreme inaction from the league is unacceptable and has left a sense of distrust and uncertainty over our safety and well-being while playing this event and our matches at home. We hope this situation will shed light on an ongoing problem in the game of football and in our world.”
The New York Red Bulls academy teams withdraw from Adidas’ Generation Cup
The Red Bulls Youth Academy players responded to the incidents with a statement
MLS spokespeople did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com’s request for comment.
The Red Bulls U-17 team had already been eliminated from the tournament by Hajduk Split, although the U-15 remained in the competition until forced to withdraw ahead of Thursday’s match against French side Toulouse.
The league’s amateur circuit, MLS Next, released a statement after the first incident saying it was aware of the problem and was investigating the claims.