What started as a dispute over a Bob Marley flag ended in a wild melee between dozens of rival soccer fans at Snapdragon Stadium on Saturday afternoon that, San Diego FC officials say, likely will result in “extended” bans for those involved.
“We’re taking it very seriously,” SDFC CEO Tom Penn said. “We’re very upset about it. It has no place in the game or in our stadium. And we’ll take decisive action.
“I’m very disappointed in the individuals who behaved like this.”
It was the second incident of postgame fan violence this season after playing a Los Angeles team. The fights in the Snapdragon Stadium parking lot following a March game against LAFC — one video on social media showed a man apparently being knocked unconscious — spurred what Penn called “a huge plan” for Saturday’s home date against the last-place LA Galaxy.
Penn said more than 100 additional security guards were deployed, with yellow-jacketed personnel standing in the aisles surrounding the Galaxy seating area in the stadium’s far upper corner. In addition, the concourse below was fenced off into a Galaxy-only area to further separate rival fans.
Other than a few isolated fights in the stadium’s general seating area, the plan seemed to work during SDFC’s dramatic 2-1 win on Hirving “Chucky” Lozano’s 95th-minute goal.
It didn’t work afterward, however, as spectators filed out of the stadium and security personnel held the Galaxy ers in place before escorting them to the parking lot.
According to several social media posts, an SDFC er group called the Daygo Boys had its trademark flag depicting an image of reggae icon Bob Marley stolen during its trip to Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson for the season opener against the Galaxy, a 2-0 win on Feb. 28.
In the closing moments of Saturday’s return match at Snapdragon, according to the posts, Galaxy ers belonging to Angel City Brigade unfurled the flag and held it upside down.
Videos show SDFC ers sprinting through the concourse and climbing the stairs to the visiting section. Galaxy fans broke through the line of yellow-jacketed security, and it was on.
One video showed a mother grabbing her young child and hustling to safety as punches flew around them. Several brawlers came perilously close to tumbling over the second-deck railing into the lower bowl below. A still photo showed a man in a blue SDFC jersey whipping a belt with the buckle end extended.
The clashes began in the second deck, then continued into the concourse below. It’s unclear whether there was more fighting in the surrounding parking lots.
A statement from San Diego State University police (the Mission Valley property is technically part of the campus) confirmed it “responded to multiple altercations reported inside and outside the stadium involving rivalry fan groups.” City police responded as well with numerous squad cars; a helicopter circled overhead for nearly an hour after the game, instructing fans to leave the parking lots promptly.
There were no immediate reports of arrests, although one video appeared to show police handcuffing one person on the lawn outside the stadium.
Soccer America called it “some of the worst scenes of fan violence in the league’s 30 years.”
In Europe and Latin America, leagues have forced teams to play games behind closed doors without spectators following particularly violent fan incidents. Fighting at MLS games is rare, and the league typically allows individual clubs to investigate and issue sanctions.
“It takes a while to specifically identify the aggressors and then find out who they are by name,” Penn said. “We’re in the process of identifying specific people and then we intend to formally ban them from attending future matches. We’re not legal authority, but we control who comes into our games.
“We intend to ban for an extended period of time the folks who most warrant it. It can be anything from multiple games to permanently.”
Daygo Boys posted a statement on Instagram that did not reference any role in the postgame conflagration.
“Our barra,” it said, “has several leaders which hold the group to a certain standard of in our stand, but also to protect our youth from possible danger. The barra and its leaders do not condone any form of violence. Every matchday we turn our focus to throwing a party in the stands, and only that.”
One fan on social media posted his submission to an SDFC season-ticket holders’ game experience survey. An excerpt:
“This is the second match with an LA team where you had a security failure. The first time with LAFC was understandable, but still bad. The second time with Galaxy was inexcusable. I take my wife and three sons to the games, and do not want to have to walk a gauntlet to get out and get home. …
“They were up there brawling over a stolen flag. Keep your word and ban them. They have given the franchise a black eye and have created a dangerous situation for everyone else. There is plenty of video. We want to feel safe in the stadium, do your job.”
Another fan on social media recounted his experience in the general seating areas:
“Lots of families just trying to enjoy the game. We had a fight in our section, and a SDFC fan came over to the other guy’s seat and beat him up. Right after the fight, the SDFC fan grabbed the Galaxy hat off a kid walking down the stairs by him and threw it deep into the crowd. Kid eventually cried. … During the fight, beers were thrown, other kids near the fight were rightfully scared and crying too.”
Penn said he hopes to issue bans before the next home game, Saturday night against Austin, noting that more could follow as additional intel becomes available. They’ll also review security protocols, inside and outside the stadium.
“We take it very, very seriously,” Penn said. “We want an atmosphere that is ionate, safe and inclusive, where everybody in San Diego feels comfortable, they feel safe being there and we come together as one community and express our ion. That’s the goal. We will continue working towards that every single night.”
