Satisfaction striker Barbra Banda (22) competes for the ball with Gotham FC’s Jaelin Howell (7) on March 23, 2025.
Gotham FC has revoked a fan’s season tickets and banned them from future crew occasions and matches after an investigation discovered the individual violated the NWSL Fan Code of Conduct once they , the membership introduced Wednesday.
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Gotham once more condemned the unidentified fan’s actions on the crew’s March 23 dwelling opener in opposition to the Satisfaction and reiterated the membership’s objective of making a “protected” atmosphere for everybody.
“Threatening, abusive or discriminatory habits or language of any variety has no place at Gotham FC occasions,” Gotham FC mentioned in a press release. “Our membership and the NWSL are dedicated to making a welcoming, protected and gratifying matchday expertise for all gamers, workers and followers.”
Satisfaction striker Barbra Banda (22) competes for the ball with Gotham FC’s Jaelin Howell (7) on March 23, 2025. NWSL by way of Getty Photographs
Gotham grew to become conscious of inappropriate taunts being directed at Banda when one other fan reported the incident to Sports activities Illustrated Stadium safety in the course of the recreation.
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Safety responded to the incident and spoke to at the least one fan, however didn’t take away them. Extra safety was additionally despatched to the part to watch the scenario for the rest of the sport. No additional incident developed, Gotham mentioned on the time.
Per league coverage, Gotham filed an incident report back to the NWSL that evening alerting them to the allegations.
A fan who recognized as a Gotham season ticket holder in part 102 who witnessed the alleged incident posted on Reddit the morning after the match, saying they had been “shocked and disgusted” by individuals who “expressed bigotry in direction of Barbra Banda that stemmed from the racist, transphobic conspiracies that had been unfold about her after she earned BBC Ladies’s Footballer of the Yr award final yr.”
The Reddit publish continued, partly, “One fan acquired pulled apart by safety after he cheered for Banda falling down and yelled, ‘She shouldn’t be on the sector anyway!’ I used to be gratified to see safety converse to him, however all he acquired was a warning.”
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Shortly after the Reddit publish began to achieve traction, Gotham, the Satisfaction and the NWSL launched joint statements condemning the alleged participant abuse.
“We’re united in our message: This habits is unacceptable and has no place in our league or in our stadiums,” the statements mentioned.
Satisfaction striker Barba Banda (22) takes a selfie with a fan after signing a Zambia jersey following a recreation in opposition to Gotham FC in Harrison, N.J. on March 23, 2025. Getty Photographs
Banda, 25, confronted anti-trans assaults in November, notably from writer J.Ok. Rowling, after she scored the profitable objective within the 2024 NWSL Championship and was named BBC World Footballer of the Yr.
These on-line assaults had been largely based mostly on a 2022 controversy through which Banda was — a World Cup qualifying occasion — reportedly due to her testosterone ranges.
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Banda performed within the 2023 World Cup and 2024 Olympics for Zambia.
Gotham mentioned the membership spent greater than every week interviewing witnesses, together with followers and stadium personnel, in addition to reviewing safety footage of the incident earlier than banning the fan.
The crew additionally mentioned followers attending video games can report inappropriate habits via an encrypted textual content message service, referred to as Raven Eye, by texting complaints to 973-566-5001.
