MLS reinstates Kai Wagner for 1st Philadelphia Union game of season
NEW YORK (CBS/AP) - Major League Soccer has lifted Union defender Kai Wagner's suspension for violating the league's on-field discrimination policy just days ahead of Philadelphia's first match of the season.
Wagner received a three-game suspension during last season's playoffs after allegations he used a racial slur against a New England Revolution player. The suspension was supposed to extend one game into the 2024 season.
But on Monday, MLS announced that Wagner had completed the league's new restorative practices program. The Union open their regular season at home on Saturday, Feb. 24 against the Chicago Fire.
The Athletic reported last year that Wagner allegedly directed an anti-Asian slur at New England's Bobby Wood during Game 1 of the three-match first-round playoff series between the two teams.
The MLS and its players' union launched a new joint anti-discrimination policy earlier this month. The policy, developed with the group Black Players for Change, takes a restorative approach.