Racial slurs, assault reported at girls’ soccer game

A New Mexico youth soccer league is investigating allegations that parents yelled racial slurs at Hispanic girl soccer players and that a parent physically assaulted one of the girls during a game.

The Duke City Soccer League said Tuesday it’s looking into reports that a white man choked and groped a 14-year-old player during a match Saturday in Bernalillo, New Mexico, which spectators say was filled with racial tensions.

Ana Garcia, coach of Alameda 99, a largely Latina team of players 19 and younger, said the melee began after her players experienced racial taunting during an intense 3-3 game with Rio Galaxy — one of the Albuquerque area’s elite soccer clubs.

“All throughout the game, the parents were calling the players things like ‘dirty Mexicans,’ and other stuff I can’t even repeat,” Garcia said.