Union's Bedoya Won't be Suspended After Goal Celebration Calling on Congress to "End Gun Violence"
The Union reclaimed first place last night with a dominant 5-1 victory against 10-man D.C. United on the road.
After his opening goal, captain Alejandro Bedoya ran over to the one of the field mics and shouted, “hey Congress, do something now, end gun violence, let’s go,” which quickly went viral and made the rounds on social media and the internet at large.
Today, we’ve got multiple folks reporting that Bedoya won’t be suspended for his message:
Update: Bedoya in the clear. No fine, no suspension, no punishment. https://t.co/0sV7ESZrgg
— Andrew Das (@AndrewDasNYT) August 5, 2019
Bedoya was backed by Union head coach Jim Curtin and Players Association Executive Director Bob Foose.
Major League Soccer added this statement, after the jump:
Statement from #MLS regarding Alejandro Bedoya's goal celebration yesterday in which he implored Congress to take action on gun violience. #DOOP pic.twitter.com/eTnI9ZKRiF
— Jeff Carlisle (@JeffreyCarlisle) August 5, 2019
The league has a strict no-politics policy when it comes to fan signage inside stadiums, which means that the Sons of Ben can’t unfurl a banner that says “Trump is a turd sandwich” or “fuck Antifa” or something along those lines. That’s explicitly written in the fan code of conduct, though I’m not sure if there’s any specific policy regarding what players are allowed to say or do on the field.
For what it’s worth, FIFA restricts political displays, so for example you’re not supposed to take off your jersey to reveal a message written on an undershirt. That example is covered in the FIFA Disciplinary Code via Rule 11 which deems inappropriate the act of “using a sports event for demonstrations of a non-sporting nature.”
Similarly, here’s the language regarding player equipment in the FIFA Laws of the Game:
Players must not reveal undergarments that show political, religious, personal slogans, statements or images, or advertising other than the manufacturer logo.
I will look for a specific rule regarding MLS player conduct RE: politics, but I don’t think one exists.
Here’s the Bedoya celebration video:
Shout out to the🇺🇲USMNT🇺🇲's Alejandro Bedoya! "Congress do something! End Gun Violence Now!! Lets Go!!"#MLS pic.twitter.com/O7Mfvvinj6
— 𝙋𝙤🇺🇸🇺🇦⚛ᶠʳᵒᵐ 𝘾𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤𝙣 𝙃𝙞𝙡𝙡 BK (@Po_C_HILL) August 5, 2019