LA Galaxy player Aleksandar Katai has been released by the Los Angeles based football club two days after the club was made aware of racist comments posted by his wife on her social media page amid the Black Lives Matter protests that has been happening in the US and all over the world after the police killing of George Floyd.
Tea Katai, Katai’s wife posted on Instagram a photo with a caption written in Serbian urging police to kill protesters. In another post, she referred to protesters as disgusting cattle and in a third post she shared a racist meme.
On Wednesday, Galaxy condemned the comments made by Katai’s wife and then the player himself distanced himself from his wife’s posts late Wednesday night before a meeting with the club’s officials on Thursday to explain the situation.
Katai in a social media post said he did not share his wife’s views and they were not tolerated by his family.
On Thursday, a handful of club fans then gathered by the David Beckham statue outside the club’s stadium holding a banner reading ‘No Racists in Our Club’ along with a circle and a red line through Katai’s squad number.
Coupled with online calls for Katai’s dismissal the club had to wield the axe.
In a one-sentence news release posted by the club on it’s Twitter handle on Friday, the MLS franchise announced their decision to mutually part ways with the Serbian winger who they recently purchased.
Katai joined MLS with the Chicago Fire in 2018 after a career in Europe, including time with Serbian’s 1991 Champions League winners, Red Star Belgrade.
He was signed by LA Galaxy as a free agent on December 31 and was expected to link up with former Manchester United striker Chicharito to devastating effect in the attack line this season.
