It Seems To Me . . .

Consititutional issues are raised by suit against U.S. Soccer ticket policy.

By Robert Wagman
SoccerTimes

WASHINGTON, D.C, (Thursday, August 22, 2002) -- If the New Yankees are playing in Fenway Park, the Boston Red Sox can try to ensure that Yankees fans sit in the worst seats. The same is true for Green Bay Packers fans when their team is visiting the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field.

The conduct of the home teams in these situations is generally considered not only legal, but expected. Howver, if a foreign team is coming to America to play the United States, can the U.S. Soccer Federation manipulate the seating to favor the home side without violating the Constitution. A federal court has been asked to decide.

As soccer fans around the world know, it is commonplace for teams to limit supporters of the visiting team to one section of the stadium, usually not a prime viewing area, and, in other nations, often separated from the home fans by high fences.

Essentially, that is what the USSF attempted to do, minus the fences, last September when Honduras faced off against the Americans in a important World Cup qualifying match here in Washington at RFK Stadium.

Virginia resident Humberto Martinez says he was ready to spend whatever it would have taken to get a front-row view of the action. But, he alleges, ticket agents for U.S. Soccer would not sell him seats in the lower half of the stadium, he claims, because of his Hispanic last name. They were afraid he would root for Honduras.

Martinez did not want the upper deck seats he was offered, instead staying home and watching the match on television. Now, he is suing, claiming racial discrimination.

More specifically, he has filed a class-action lawsuit in U.S. District Court, alleging that his civil rights were violated in that U.S. Soccer and its ticket selling agents illegally used national origin as a basis for refusing to sell him tickets. The suit seeks an injunction preventing the alleged practice in the future, along with monetary damages to be determined at trial, according to his attorney, Thomas J. Simeone.

Over the past decade, whenever the U.S. plays against a Latin American country such as Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, El Salvador or Honduras in any major American city, it usually feels as if it is playing an away match with fans of the visiting team almost outnumbering U.S. fans, and usually outcheering them. The only recent exception has been when the U.S. has played in the 25,000-seat Columbus Crew Stadium, and most of the tickets were snapped up by Crew season ticket holders.

If the U.S. plays Mexico in Los Angeles, it's almost assured 50,000 Mexican fans will be in attendance. For a game against El Salvador or Honduras in Washington, half or more the crowd will support the visitor. On the other hand, the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., the Los Angeles Coliseum or RFK Stadium are some of big venues at which U.S. Soccer can pull in large gate receipts. So the dilemma is how to ensure big days at the box office while still trying to preserve some kind of home field advantage.

So the plan devised by U.S. Soccer for last September's Honduras qualifier was to try to limit ticket sales for RFK's bowl to D.C. United season ticket holders, to "friends" of the USSF and to others buying their tickets either through the Maryland or Virginia\D.C. youth and adult amateur soccer associations.

Very few lower bowl tickets, supposedly, were available for purchase at the box office, yet stories abounded in the days before the match of lower section tickets being denied to anyone with a Hispanic surname.

In one case, Honduras' ambassador to the U.S., Hugo Noe Pino, said he tried to buy a block of good seats on the lower level, but was told none were available. Then, he alleged, his secretary with an Irish name on her credit card had no trouble making the same purchase.

The controversy has not only sparked this new law suit, but also a Justice Department investigation. The inquiry, launched after the match in September, is looking into whether U.S. Soccer, RFK Stadium and its ticket agents used national origin as a basis for selling tickets at the stadium, according to statement by Justice Department spokesperson Casey Stavropoulos.

U.S. Soccer would no comment on the law suit, but the Federation has denied the allegations in a response filed with the court.

This suit becomes particularly interesting given its basis in nationality. Experts say while it is legal to deny tickets on the basis of geography or a fan's loyalty, federal law prohibits discrimination on the basis of national origin. That's no problem for the Red Sox or the Bears, but it does present a rather unique problem in soccer, especially World Cup soccer, when teams and their fans are specifically divided by national loyalty.

"Favoring the home team in ticket sales is a legitimate practice, but it's so closely tied to national origin in this case, you can't say it's separate," Arthur B. Spitzer, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of the National Capital Area told the Washington Times. "It's going to be interesting to see what happens. It's something the court will have to decide."

One irony here is that Martinez, who emigrated to the U.S. from El Salvador 20 years ago, said he had been planning on cheering for the U.S. because he does not like Honduras. Another is the lower bowl at RFK was perhaps a quarter filled with Honduran fans anyway.

Senior correspondent Robert Wagman's "It Seems To Me . . . " appears regularly on SoccerTimes. He can be e-mailed at bobwagman@soccertimes.com..