Hartford Athletic match abandoned by players, staff due to alleged use of racially offensive language

HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — A Hartford Athletic match was abandoned Saturday night due to an alleged on-field verbal exchange between players, according to the team.

Hartford Athletic faced the Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC in a USL soccer match on Saturday evening. According to Hartford Athletic, due to a Pittsburgh Riverhounds player allegedly using racially offensive language, players and staff “did not feel comfortable proceeding with the match.”

Pittsburgh Riverhounds said in a statement: ” Our organization takes any allegation off discriminatory or offensive language extremely seriously. At the same time, we stand by our players and deny that such language was used. We will fully cooperate with the league’s investigation into the matter.”

Hartford Athletic player Marlon Hairston shared a statement on Instagram after the match:

“To our fans, I apologize for the way things had to end tonight. And I appreciated the support from everyone. Words get exchanged all the time during games, but once you cross the line with racism, that game is no longer important. I appreciate my team for having my back. If you know me, you know my character is not like that, but I stand on what I believe is right and what is wrong.”

Hartford Athletic has requested a league investigation into the incident.