Galaxy part company with Katai after wife's racist posts

Los Angeles (AFP) – The Los Angeles Galaxy parted company with midfielder Aleksandar Katai on Friday, days after the player’s wife sparked outrage with a series of racist social media posts.

A single sentence statement posted on the Galaxy’s website said former Serbia international Katai had now left the club by mutual agreement.

It came after Katai’s wife Tea had mocked the Black Lives Matter movement and urged violence against people protesting the death of George Floyd at the hands of a white police officer.

The posts on Instagram were subsequently deleted after the Galaxy condemned them as “racist and violent”.

As in dozens of cities across the United States, thousands have joined demonstrations in Los Angeles against racism and police brutality.

Katai later took to Instagram to apologize for his wife’s “unacceptable” posts.

“These views are not ones that I share and are not tolerated in my family,” the 29-year-old wrote.

“I am sorry for the pain these posts have caused the LA Galaxy family and all allies in the fight against racism.”

Katai started for the Galaxy for the first two games of the season before matches were suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.

He came to the Los Angeles club this season from the Chicago Fire and previously also played for Deportivo Alaves in the Spanish league.