Red Bulls fans walk out to protest club’s handling of Vanzeir, Struber

Red Bulls supporters have seen enough

When it comes to Dante Vanzeir and Gerhard Struber, New York Red Bulls fans have seen enough.

Three of the largest Red Bulls supporters groups staged a walk out of Saturday night’s match against the Houston Dynamo, leaving en masse after the national anthem was played at Red Bull Arena.

Following the Belgian striker’s admission that he used a racial slur in last Saturday’s match against the San Jose Earthquakes, Vanzeir was suspended six games by MLS. That tepid response, a contrast to the league’s stated “zero tolerance” policy, has drawn intense criticism from fans, media, and former MLS stars like Charlie Davies.

Furthering the problem, Red Bulls head coach Gerhard Struber did not remove Vanzeir from play even after being exhorted to do so by San Jose boss Luchi Gonzalez. Struber admitted on Thursday that he had mishandled the situation at the time, though that admission has seemed to make little impact when it comes to the maelstrom the club has found itself in.

That includes a furious reaction from the club’s supporters, who have called for Vanzeir’s contract to be terminated and for Struber to be fired. Vanzeir’s suspension for less than 20% of the season has left fans feeling as though there’s no choice but to act.

Red Bull Arena’s “South Ward” is home of the club’s largest supporters groups, and it ended up being empty as fans left as a group moments before kickoff. That follows a plan the supporters’ groups spelled out in statements posted on social media Friday.

“It is the position of the South Ward that we will not provide active, in-stadium support at Red Bull Arena until Dante Vanzeir and Gerhard Struber are justly punished and held accountable for their actions,” read a joint statement from supporters’ groups Empire SC, Viking Army, and Torcida 96. “We plan to continue protesting RBNY and MLS until our conditions are met or we feel the organization has made meaningful and acceptable change.”

The statement called on MLS to revisit their suspension of Vanzeir and announce something more in line with the league’s stated anti-racist goals, and demanded that the club’s head of sport Jochen Schneider fire Struber immediately.

The supporters’ joint statement included a call for fans elsewhere to join the walk out, and to donate money to the Black Players for Change rather than spend it on concessions at Red Bull Arena.

As the match kicked off, fans began their departure from seats reserved for the supporters’ groups, leaving them nearly deserted.

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