Major League Soccer Concludes Investigation Into Andrew Putna’s Racist Remarks

SALT LAKE CITY – Major League Soccer has announced that it has concluded the investigation into the racial remarks made by Andrew Putna.

“On October 14, Real Salt Lake officials received a report that Putna made derogatory remarks about a teammate’s national origin during first-team training. In accordance with league protocol, the Club immediately reported the incident to Major League Soccer and the league instituted an investigation into the allegations. The MLS investigation confirmed those allegations, finding that Putna did make derogatory remarks referencing another player’s ethnicity. During the pendency of the investigation, Putna was separated from the team and prohibited from engaging in team activities for a timeframe that includes two match dates. In addition, the player is required to undergo diversity and inclusion training prior to engaging in any future team activities, including training, and competition,” the statement reads.

KSL Sports can confirm that the most recent investigation is not the first incident regarding Putna. However, all previous incidents have been dealt with internally and were not made public.

Putna has one more year left on his contract. The club can initiate a buy-out of Putna’s contract at the conclusion of the season, every club is entitled to do so with one player per year. Real Salt Lake last initiated a contract buy-out in 2018 as it related to Yura Movsisyan.