Federico Higuaín sacked by Columbus Crew over ref remark

Columbus Crew have sacked Federico Higuaín, brother of Gonzalo Higuaín, as head coach of the club's reserve side after he told a female referee "this is a man's game."

The incident happened on 23 August, after Columbus Crew's reserve team lost 1-0 to Huntsville City in the MLS Next Pro. Higuaín held onto the referee's hand during the post-match handshake and, by all accounts, refused to let go despite being asked three times to stop. He was sent off and initially banned for two games by MLS.

The Professional Soccer Referees Association objected to that punishment as too lenient. "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," the union said in a statement, adding that the physical intimidation was "compounded by a demeaning, sexist remark to the official."

Several supporters' groups called openly for Higuaín's removal. Columbus Crew general manager Issa Tall confirmed the dismissal a month after the incident. "We determined it's in the best interest of our club, players and support staff to dismiss Federico Higuain from his responsibilities," Tall said. "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."

Higuaín, 41, had played alongside his brother at Inter Miami before moving into coaching. Gonzalo Higuaín's former side currently sit third in MLS on 46 points from 26 games, with Lionel Messi their leading scorer on 19 for the season. Huntsville City, the opponents in the game that led to the ban, sit fourth in MLS Next Pro on 44 points from 28 matches.