The Professional Soccer Referees Association and the state’s largest LGBTQ support group on Tuesday both condemned Real Salt Lake coach Mike Petke for his use of homophobic slurs directed at Leagues Cup officials after last week’s match between RSL and Tigres UANL at Rio Tinto Stadium.
After the game, video showed Petke yelling at a group of referees while being restrained by two of his assistant coaches. The Salt Lake Tribune confirmed that he repeatedly used a term that is considered a homophobic slur in some Spanish-speaking countries.
But the tirade didn’t stop there. After the altercation on the field, Petke waited for the referee crew in the tunnel of Rio Tinto Stadium and continued to yell the slur in Spanish.