June 16 (UPI) -- Anti-gay chants caused a referee to stop a soccer match between the United States Men's National Team and Mexico, resulting in a U.S. win in the CONCACAF Nations League semifinal in Las Vegas.
The match was stopped in the 89th minute before play resumed, but was halted for a final time with four minutes left in stoppage time Thursday at Allegiant Stadium. The U.S. men won 3-0 to advance to the tournament finale.
An anti-gay slur could be heard being shouted by fans in unison throughout the match, which featured four red-card ejections and 34 fouls between the soccer rivals.
"Concacaf strongly condemns the discriminatory chanting by some fans during the 2023 Concacaf Nations League semifinal match between Mexico and the United States," Concacaf said in a news release.
"Chants heard during the game led to the activation of the anti-discrimination protocol by the match officials. Additionally, security staff ejected several fans for engaging in unacceptable behavior in the stadium.
"These incidents were extremely disappointing and tarnished what should have been a positive occasion to showcase high quality football in our region."
Concacaf said it is investigating for further "details and reports" from security and match officials. In January, FIFA fined Mexico more than $100,000 and said the team must play a match behind closed doors because of chants from supporters at the 2022 World Cup.
Christian Pulisic scored twice in Thursday's triumph. Fellow forward Ricardo Pepi scored the other goal for the United States. Right back Sergino Dest and right wing Weston McKennie, who received red cards, will be unavailable for the Americans in the Nations League final.
"The game didn't need to turn into all this madness that it did," Pulisic told reporters. "They really need to control the game much more. It's sad. Now we are missing two good players because everyone is losing their heads. I'm a little bit upset, but at the end of the day we are in the final."
The U.S. men will face Canada in the tournament finale at 8:30 p.m. EDT Sunday in Las Vegas.
