MLS Coach FIRED After Reportedly Giving “Sexist” Remark To Female Referee, Here’s What He Said

Major League Soccer club Columbus Crew have sacked their reserve team coach after he refused to let go of a female referee’s hand and said “don’t forget this is a man’s game”.

Federico Higuain, brother of former Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuain, was sent off and given a two-match suspension for the incident during an MLS Next Pro league match.

“We determined it’s in the best interest of our club, players and support staff to dismiss Federico Higuain from his responsibilities,” Crew general manager Issa Tall said in a statement.

“After conversations this week and further assessing the past month, our club’s standards of what’s expected from a leader for one of our teams have not been met.”

Meanwhile, the Professional Soccer Referees Association (PSRA) criticised the league’s response, saying Higuain’s two-game ban “falls drastically short”.

A statement from the referees’ union added: “A male head coach committed two deliberate acts of physical abuse and sexism against a female official – squeezing her hand and refusing to let go after being told to stop three times.

“This physical intimidation was compounded by a demeaning, sexist remark to the official: ‘Don’t forget, this is a man’s game.’

“Women make every level of this game better. They should not have to endure intimidation or degrading comments to prove it.

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The first call for the first female umpire in MLB history went exactly as you would expect. pic.twitter.com/L7W7WzCnLp

— Wall Street Mav (@WallStreetMav) July 13, 2026

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Robin DeLorenzo, one of the first three women to work full-time as an on-field NFL official, has filed a lawsuit against the league and two officials, saying that she faced gender discrimination, retaliation and harassment while in her role from 2022 to 2025, when the league fired her.

The lawsuit, filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, seeks reinstatement along with unspecified damages. An NFL spokesperson on Tuesday called the lawsuit “baseless.”

DeLorenzo began her career at the high school level, later officiating college football before the NFL hired her in 2022. In the complaint, she describes an environment that “fixated on her gender from day one,” and a league that “views female officials as novelties to be controlled, disciplined, or pushed out — never as professionals entitled to equal opportunity.”

The league denied DeLorenzo’s claims.

“The NFL is committed to providing a fair and supportive environment for all of its game officials,” the league said in a statement. “Ms. DeLorenzo was terminated following three seasons of documented underperformance. The allegations in this lawsuit are baseless, and we will vigorously defend against them in court.”

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