PARADISE, Nev. — The email snuck into inboxes at 3:45 p.m., with Lucha Libre masks already donned and tailgates in full swing. Mexican soccer had attracted them to Las Vegas. Thousands of fans had converged, as they always do, with passion and verve. And nobody had warned them about any consequences for their most despicable tradition, the “p***” chant, an anti-gay slur that seems to mar El Tri games everywhere the men’s national team goes.
That is, until a few hours prior to kickoff.
CONCACAF, after years of inaction, had the gall to issue a news release promoting a “highly impactful ‘What's Wrong is Wrong’ anti-discrimination campaign,” which has “largely focused on a core aim of discouraging derogatory chants in stadiums.