Kai Wagner is reportedly accused of using a racist slur in the Union’s last game

Over the years, the Union’s players and staff have largely done a commendable job of avoiding using offensive language toward opponents on the field, while other teams in MLS — including two geographical neighbors this year — have not.

That streak may have come to an end in the Union’s most recent game.

The Athletic reported Monday night that Major League Soccer is investigating an allegation that star Union left back Kai Wagner aimed an anti-Asian slur toward New England Revolution forward Bobby Wood during the teams’ playoff series opener at Subaru Park.

After Nathan Harriel was knocked over near midfield in the 86th minute, there was a multi-player fracas at the ensuing stoppage of play. Wagner was in the middle of it, and the live broadcast showed him shouting at the Revolution’s Giacomo Vrioni, then at Wood and Vrioni together.

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By the time Wood was in the frame, Wagner’s back was to the camera, and it remained that way throughout the sequence of Wagner shouting at the duo. A second round of shouting from Wagner toward Wood had Wagner’s body mostly cut off. So lip reading wouldn’t be possible.

You’d also have to speak German, according to the Athletic’s report. It claimed Wagner said the alleged slur in his native language, which Wood also speaks because he played in Germany for many years. Wood, a Hawai’i native, is of both Japanese and African American descent.

The Athletic reported that New England players and coaches told the officiating crew about the incident, and that lead referee Pierre-Luc Lauzière wrote of it in his postgame report. Referees’ postgame reports are not made public.

A request for comment from a Union spokesperson has not yet been returned.

MLS gave this statement to the Athletic: “MLS is aware of the allegation that a player used discriminatory language toward an opposing player, and a review of the matter is underway. The League has been working with the MLS Players Association and Black Players for Change on a process to address these types of allegations and will have no further comment during the pendency of the review.”

The league usually hands down harsh punishments if allegations of using racist language are confirmed, unless teams do so first.

In April, the league suspended New Red Bulls forward Dante Vanzeir, the most expensive signing in the team’s history, for six games after it was proven that he used racist language in a game that month.

In July, D.C. United placed big-money forward Taxi Fountas on adminstrative leave after the second allegation of his time in Washington, and in August the team and player mutually terminated his contract.

Wagner, 26, is out of contract after this season, and has been locked in a pay dispute with the team that seems unlikely to end with a new deal.

Many recent Union games have featured fans chanting “Pay Kai Wagner!” in the hopes that the team will spend more to keep a player who has been quite popular for most of his time here, and one of the best left backs in MLS.

Saturday’s game, a 3-1 win, might have been his last game at Subaru Park. He played a big role in it, creating the team’s second goal and directly assisting the third. The next game of the series is Nov. 8 at New England (7 p.m., FS1, Fox Deportes, Apple TV).

This is the first time any accusation like this has been leveled at Wagner in his four years with the Union. The last prominent instance of a Union player using derogatory language in a game was in 2018, when Fafà Picault was suspended three games for using a homophobic slur in a preseason closed-door scrimmage.

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