Saturday's game betweenD.C. Unitedand theChicago Firewas stopped in the second half, with the referee saying D.C. United's Israeli striker Tai Baribo was subject to a "discriminatory slur" from a fan.
In the 73rd minute at Soldier Field in Chicago, Baribo was standing by the touchline and then ran to referee Sergii Demianchuk to alert him to something.
The game briefly resumed before Demianchuk stopped play and went to the sideline to speak with D.C. United coach René Weiler and Chicago coach Gregg Berhalter.
After a stoppage of around two minutes, the match resumed.D.C. United won the game 2-1on March 14, with Baribo scoring the game-winner on a penalty kick in second-half stoppage time.
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Baribo, who is Jewish, joined D.C. United in the offseason after spending two and a half seasons with the Philadelphia Union.
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Responding to apostgame question from a pool reporter, Demianchuk confirmed that the match was paused due to "a reported discriminatory slur, made by an unidentified spectator, directed toward D.C. United No. 9, Tai Baribo."
In his postgame press conference, Weiler said there had been an "incident with somebody who mentioned something negative from the stands. But I don't like to give it a focus or a stage."
The Swiss coach added that he didn't believe the game necessarily should have been stopped.
"We have to go on immediately and don't give it the power," he said.
MLS and the Chicago Fire have been contacted for comment.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Chicago Fire vs. DC United paused after slur toward Israeli player Tai Baribo