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D.C. United is transferring towards a mutual termination of Taxi Fountas’ contract following an accusation that the ahead directed a racial slur towards teammate Nigel Robertha, sources confirmed to ESPN.

The Athletic was the primary to report the information. The sources requested anonymity as a result of they weren’t approved to publicly talk about the matter. A league spokesperson declined to remark.

The allegation stems from an incident that occurred on July 15 in the course of the second half of a match between DCU and the New England Revolution.

Across the 67th minute, Fountas, who’s white, and Robertha, who’s Black, might be seen arguing. The disagreement carried into the locker room after the match, with Robertha allegedly placing Fountas with a foam curler, a tool generally used for treating muscle accidents, the Athletic reported.

Later, Robertha is reported to have advised crew officers that Fountas used the N-word, which the membership instantly communicated to league officers, leading to an investigation.

Fountas and Robertha have been initially positioned on administrative go away, though Robertha was reinstated on July 24. The outcomes of the investigation have not but been made public. Fountas stays on paid administrative go away.

That is the second time in 10 months that accusations of racist conduct have been leveled at Fountas.

In a league match towards Inter Miami final Sept. 18, Fountas was alleged to have directed a racial slur at then-Miami defender Damion Lowe, which was overheard by Miami’s Aimé Mabika. A subsequent investigation carried out by MLS discovered Mabika’s allegation “credible” however as a result of it could not be corroborated, no high-quality was issued to Fountas.

The Athletic reported that in a bid to clear his title following the most recent allegation, Fountas underwent and handed a polygraph take a look at, the outcomes of which he handed on to the league. The accuracy of polygraphs has lengthy been debated, and will not be thought of to be conclusive proof that the topic is both mendacity or telling the reality.

In keeping with information from the MLS Gamers Affiliation, Fountas, a Greece worldwide, is D.C. United’s third-highest-paid participant, with a assured compensation of $1.741m.

If Fountas’ contract is terminated, the corresponding wage funds house and Designated Participant spot could be freed up. However when it comes to discovering a alternative, DCU could be restricted to gamers out of contract because the summer season switch window closed on Aug. 2. League rosters are set to be frozen on Sept. 13.