September 24 – The Columbus Crew fired their reserve team coach after he refused to let go of an umpire’s hand and told her “don’t forget this is a man’s game.”
Federico Higuain, brother of former Real Madrid forward Gonzalo, was sent off and banned for two matches for the incident during an MLS Next Pro game. The Crew went further, writing him out of his role entirely.
“We determined that it is in the best interest of our club, players and support staff to relieve Federico Higuaín of his responsibilities,” general manager Issa Tall said, adding that “our club’s standards of what is expected of a leader of one of our teams have not been met.”
Credit to the crew for acting decisively. But the Professional Footballers’ Association was scathing about the league’s own response, saying the two-game ban “falls drastically short.”
His statement pulled no punches. “A male head coach committed two deliberate acts of physical abuse and sexism against a female official, shaking her hand and refusing to let go after being told to stop three times,” it read.
The union’s closing line landed harder. “Women improve every level of this game. They shouldn’t have to endure intimidation or demeaning comments to prove it. Our female officers have proven their excellence on the world stage. They deserve the same respect, dignity and safe work environment as all other officers.”
The club did the right thing. The question is whether the league’s punishment matched the severity of what happened.
Contact the writer of this story, Nick Webster, at (email protected)