Columbus Crew fires coach for sexist behavior towards female referee

Major League Soccer club Columbus Crew has fired their reserve team coach Federico Higuaín. This follows an incident where he refused to release a female referee’s hand and made a sexist comment.

Higuaín is the brother of former Real Madrid and Argentina striker Gonzalo Higuaín. He was a long-time player for Columbus and was the head coach of Crew 2, the club’s MLS NEXT Pro team.

The club made this decision after Higuaín received a two-match suspension for his actions during a match on August 23 against Huntsville City FC.

After the game, Higuaín allegedly squeezed the female referee’s hand and refused to let go. He was told to stop three times but did not listen.

According to BBC Sport on Wednesday, Higuaín said to her, “Don’t forget, this is a man’s game.” Crew general manager Issa Tall said in a statement, “We determined it’s in the best interest of our Club, players and support staff to dismiss Federico Higuaín from his responsibilities. After conversations this week and further assessing the past month, our Club’s standards of what’s expected from a leader for one of our teams have not been met.”

The Professional Soccer Referees Association (PSRA) had previously criticized the league’s two-game ban as not enough. In a statement, the referees’ union said, “A male head coach committed two deliberate acts of physical abuse and sexism against a female official, squeezing her hand and refusing to let go after being told to stop three times. This physical intimidation was compounded by a demeaning, sexist remark to the official: ‘Don’t forget, this is a man’s game.’ Women make every level of this game better. They should not have to endure intimidation or degrading comments to prove it. Our female officials have proven their excellence on the world stage. They deserve the same respect, dignity, and safe working environment as every other official.” The PSRA called the two-match suspension “falls drastically short.”

After serving his suspension and completing part of a required restorative practices process, Higuaín returned to the sidelines. But the club has now decided to part ways with him.

The Crew 2 technical staff will take over coaching duties during the upcoming MLS NEXT Pro playoffs as the club looks for a permanent replacement.