The New England Revolution front office had fans in their supporters section -- The Fort -- removed, apparently for using the so-called (and, honestly, cliche) YSA chant that many groups use during goal kicks. The incident occurred during Saturday's game against the Chicago Fire and apparently involved coordination between the team, their security staff and the Foxborough Police Department. Exact details are still sketchy and are mostly reliant upon internet reports by fans and the supporters culture website The Drug Is Football.
New England Revolution Remove Supporters For ‘Explicit’ Chant
The Revolution did respond via their Facebook page with this statement, which was actually a collection of three wall posts by Chief Operating Officer Brian Biello:
Unfortunately there was an issue last night in the fort which was a culmination of multiple weeks of complaints from many of our STH who do not sit in the fort. This was related to one particular chant which our supporters’ liaison has spoken to the supporter group leaders about on multiple occasions this season. Our organization has been extremely supportive of the fort, giving them as much freedom as we can to support the team in their own way. However this one particular chant has been causing issues with our other STH for some time. Frankly I think it is sad that our supporters place so much priory on being able to yell one particular chant 10+ times a game with profanity that upsets many other people in the building. This is not about occasional swearing, or an eruption of passion it is about for some reason needing to swear in an organized, loud manner every time the opposing goaltender takes a goal kick.
We will be discussing the matter internally and with the supporters groups over the upcoming weeks, but make no mistake, the issue last night was about a member of the Revolution staff (our supporter’s liaison who has worked with them for years) asking on behalf of the organization to once again stop using that chant. This was not a security issue. While some members of the supporters groups and fort tried to help the situation, others took this as an opportunity to escalate the situation. I will not get into an online debate with people who may or may not have been at the stadium last night, nor will I allow this to be presented as an example of how this organization doesn’t care about our fans or our supporters. Again, we will be reaching our soon to the supporters groups to discuss last night and how to create a better atmosphere moving forward.
As for claims that we are somehow not treating our most loyal fans right I take great exception with that. Every one of our STHs show at least the same amount of loyalty and dedication to this team turning up week after week and year after year and our organization owes just as much service and response to them as we do to our STH in the fort.
Thank you all, and thank you for your continued support.
Go Revs Brian
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