Columbus Crew fires reserve coach Federico Higuaín after incident with female referee

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Major League Soccer club Columbus Crew fired reserve-team coach Federico Higuaín late Tuesday, following allegations of physical abuse and sexist conduct toward a female match official.

Higuaín, the brother of former Argentina and Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuaín, recently served a two-game suspension following an incident involving a female referee in an MLS NEXT Pro match on Aug. 23, according to local media.

The Professional Soccer Referees Association, a body representing match officials across the U.S. and Canada, said in a statement on social media that a male coach had been banned for two games after squeezing a female official’s hand and refusing to let go, and also accusing him of saying to her: “Don’t forget, this is a man’s game.”

The PSRA statement didn’t specifically name Higuaín, a former Columbus Crew player and the coach of Crew 2 — the club’s reserve team — since January 2025.

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

The club statement did not specifically refer to the Aug. 23 incident at a match between Crew 2 and Huntsville City FC.

The PSRA statement said the MLS NEXT Pro league’s response to the incident — the two-game suspension — fell “drastically short of the right message to the participants, the referees, and the public.”

“Women make every level of this game better,” the statement said. “They should not have to endure intimidation or degrading comments to prove it. Our female officials have proven their excellence on the world stage.

“They deserve the same respect, dignity, and safe working environment as every other official.”

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