American soccer star Brian White took a subtle shot at Canadian fans who booed the U.S. anthem before his Vancouver Whitecaps battled the Los Angeles Galaxy on Sunday night.
The booing trend began on February 1 when Ottawa fans booed the U.S. anthem before their game against the Minnesota Wild. One night after Canadian hockey fans booed the U.S., Canadian basketball fans picked up the trend by booing the Los Angeles Clippers before their game against the Toronto Raptors.
The anthem wars didn’t cool off during the 4 Nations Face-Off when the U.S. and Canada faced each other twice. One particularly raucous night in Montreal saw Team USA and Canada drop the gloves and fight three times in the first nine seconds after thoroughly booing the U.S. anthem.
The boos came on the same day that President Trump signed executive orders placing tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico. He also had joked on social media about Canada becoming the “51st state.”
On Saturday night, Canadian fans also booed the U.S. anthem during the WWE Elimination Chamber event.
White, who plays for Vancouver, roasted his own fans in his post-game comments after kicking the game-winning goal.
“I would like to say thank you to the fans that cheered and clapped the anthem at the end and showed respect for the flag,” he said via Daily Hive Vancouver. “Obviously, there’s issues. It’s not my business, and I’ll leave it at that.”
The boos came despite pleas from the public address announcer for fans to be respectful of the U.S. anthem. The Whitecaps won the game, 2-1.
