Politics and sports mixed on a Sunday afternoon in New York City, providing a snapshot of growing tensions over the presence of migrants. Last Sunday, a group of alleged migrants refused to leave a soccer field despite two club teams producing a permit to play on the field.
It produced a scene where one parent involved said that “the guys who refused to follow the rules won.”
The incident, which involved uniformed members of the New York Police Department showing up to escort the migrants off the field, resulted in the cancelation of the club soccer game. The Manhattan Kickers and FA Euro New York, two high-profile club teams in New York, were supposed to play each other last Sunday, April 14.
When they arrived at Thomas Jefferson Park in East Harlem, they were unable to secure the field.
The New York Post detailed a scene where “a group of about 30 men who appeared to be African migrants and spoke little English, wouldn’t leave.”
The police asked to see the permit from the club teams for use of the field, which was produced after a 30-minute delay.
The migrants left, but the game was called off with the Post reporting that parents felt unsafe given the situation. This feeling of uncertainty led them to cancel the game.
New York City has been at the center of a highly-publicized tug of war involving the increased presence of migrants in the five boroughs. A sanctuary city, New York has struggled with providing housing and resources for the influx of migrants in recent months.