All-star football match between top players in US and Mexico marred by homophobic chants that force play to be stopped

An All-Star game made up of players from the MLS in the United States and the MX Liga in Mexico was brought to a halt after homophobic chants rang out in Los Angeles on Wednesday night.

The first ever MLS-Liga MX All-Star clash was marred when the game had to be halted at the Banc of California Stadium because of discriminatory chants.

FIFA has a three-step protocol in place for such occurrences regarding Mexican fans, introduced in 2019.

The first is to stop the game and give a warning, while the subsequent steps see suspension of the action as players are moved to the changing room or a fixture is abandoned.

An MLS writer reported on Twitter how the game was brought to a halt during an MLS goal kick around 11 minutes in, echoing a similar incident during the Concacaf Nations League final contested by the Mexico and United States in early June.

After a stadium warning was issued, play resumed following a 'two-minute break', with the section where the chant originated from celebrating by "trying to start the [Mexican] wave", they said.

The showpiece joins the Leagues Cup and Campeones Cup as competitions that pit teams from each country against each other. Columbus Crew and Cruz Azul will do battle in the latter event on September 29.

The MLS team won 3-2 on penalties following a 1-1 draw.

This latest incident ironically occurred just hours after FIFA informed the Mexican FA that it would reduce its punishment for slurs heard during Tokyo 2020 Olympics qualifiers in March.

The Mexico men's team will play just one game behind closed doors without fans, reduced from two, with women's team matches unaffected.

"So you’re telling me that they’re stopping the MLS vs Liga MX all-star game because of the homophobic chant, yet Mexico got their punishment for doing the chant halved because of… I dunno? ‘Good behaviour’?" asked one critic.

"Make it make sense, FIFA, please."