LA Galaxy have released Serbia midfielder Aleksandar Katai after his wife, Tea, made incendiary outbursts on Instagram describing protesters over the death of George Floyd as "disgusting cattle" and calling for more killings.
The club agreed to mutually part ways with Katai, who had only made two appearances from the club since signing on December 31, during a meeting two days after being made aware of a now-deleted Instagram diatribe by his wife that they deemed "racist and violent".
Tea Katai posted a screenshot from a video showing two New York City police offers driving through a crowd of demonstrated, adding the message "kill the shits," as reported by the Associated Press' Greg Beacham.
She then mocked sportswear giant Nike's anti-racism campaign by publishing a picture of a black person running across a street with shoeboxing, captioned "Black Nikes Matter".
Another post in the series, which she is thought to have made while she was in Chicago and her husband was training with team-mates in Southern California on Tuesday night, described protesters as "disgusting cattle", according to reports.
Galaxy and Katai swiftly denounced the vitriolic posts. The club issued a statement against racism "suggesting violence" or undermining "those in pursuit of racial equality", while the 29-year-old, whose salary is said to have exceeded $612,500, said his wife's views were "unacceptable" and "not tolerated in my family."
"This is a mistake from my family and I take full responsibility," he acknowledged, promising to "take the necessary actions" to "be a better ally and advocate for equality."
"I understand that it will take time to earn back the support of the people of Los Angeles.
"Racism, particularly towards the black community, is not only prevalent in the United States and Europe but across the globe. I strongly condemn white supremacy, racism and violence towards people of color. Black lives matter."
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