MANCHESTER, England (AP) — manchester united Midfielder Jack Fletcher has been suspended for six games for making a homophobic slur about an opponent, the club announced on Wednesday.
Fletcher, 18, was shown a red card by the referee during a reserve match against Barnsley on 21 October.
According to details of the incident released this week by the English Football Association, the player admitted calling his opponent a “gay boy”.
Mr Fletcher is the son of a former United player. Darren Fletcherwas charged with aggravated breaches of the FA’s rules on offensive language and behavior because the alleged comments referred to sexual orientation.
He was given the standard minimum six-game suspension, fined about $2,000, and ordered to participate in educational training.
Mr Fletcher is the son of a former United player. Darren Fletcherapologized for the incident.
“I am truly sorry for the offensive words I used in the heat of the moment,” he said in a statement. “While I did not intend to use this word as a homophobic insult, I fully understand that such language is unacceptable and apologized immediately after the game.”
United said it had worked with Fletcher to “strengthen our understanding of discriminatory language and why it is harmful.”
According to the newspaper, Fletcher was suspended for three games.
Fletcher’s father won five Premier League titles and the Champions League during his glittering career with United. He went on to hold a number of positions at the club, including technical director, and was recently appointed interim coach. Ruben Amorim was fired. In January. He is currently an academy coach.
___
James Robson is https://x.com/James Saran Robson
___
AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
