LA Galaxy have released midfielder Aleksandar Katai following his wife’s “racist” and “violent” posts on Instagram regarding protestors.
LA Galaxy midfielder Aleksandar Katai has been released from the club following his wife’s Instagram posts, which refer to protestors as “Disgusting cattle”, even adding “kill the s**ts.”
Wednesday: Aleksandar Katai’s wife Tea Katai calls the Los Angeles protestors “Disgusting cattle,” saying, “Kill the s**ts.”
— Zach Lowy (@ZachLowy) June 5, 2020
Thursday: LA Galaxy fans protest outside the stadium demanding Katai’s release.
Friday: LA Galaxy release the Serbian winger from his contract. pic.twitter.com/iFPhneLLr6
The MLS club released a statement on the June 3 condemning the “racist” and “violent” posts made by Tea Katai, stating that they stand “firmly against racism of any kind, including that which suggests violence or seeks to demean the efforts of those in pursuit of racial equality”.
A statement from the LA Galaxy on Tea Katai. pic.twitter.com/tfGDMUomIo
— LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy) June 4, 2020
At a time in which the world is coming together in solidarity to show their support of the Black Lives Matter movement, LA Galaxy fans protested outside the stadium in order to demand Katai’s release.
The club had stated they would be holding a meeting with the player on the June 4, before releasing a statement confirming that “LA Galaxy have mutually agreed to part ways with midfield Aleksander Katai”.
The LA Galaxy have parted ways with Aleksandar Katai. pic.twitter.com/mcu0fTreC8
— LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy) June 5, 2020
This decision comes during a time in which people are being encouraged to stand up to racist behaviors in order to drive change. LA Galaxy have shown they are willing to stand by their statements of condemning racism, and the release of Aleksandar Katai shows that racism and prejudice has no place in the beautiful game.