Standoff Between Austin FC, Supporters’ Groups Over ICE Risks Turning Ugly

Major League Soccer’s most musical matchup took place over the weekend when Nashville SC of “Music City” battled Austin FC in “The Live Music Capital of the World,” appropriately during ACL Fest. For the first time ever, though, the music went missing from Q2 Stadium when supporters’ section band La Murga de Austin staged a walkout early in the match to protest ICE activity in Central Texas and across the nation.

After finishing a familiar rendition of “Bella Ciao” in the ninth minute, members of the band unfurled a banner that read “NO ICE IN THIS MELTING POT” before picking up their brass instruments and drums and – along with some members of the Los Verdes and Austin Anthem supporters’ groups – exiting the south stand and, presumably, the stadium.

The demonstration came three weeks after the ICE shooting and wounding of Venezuelan asylum seeker Wilber Rafael Garces Perez in North Austin, and two weeks after Q2 Stadium staff removed ticket holder Daniela Silva from stadium grounds for wearing and refusing to cover a shirt that read “ABOLISH ICE.”

In a statement released on its social media channels, La Murga called the walkout “not an easy decision,” and insisted, “We love this club. But love is not silent.” The group then called on the club directly.

“We are asking Austin FC to speak out – publicly, with conviction – against the injustice ICE is inflicting on the communities of Austin. The same communities it says it supports. The same communities whose faces fill your marketing, whose voices fill your stadium, whose hands and hearts make this place what it is.”

And this is where things get tricky. La Murga has every right to use its collective voice to champion a cause larger than soccer, and should be commended for doing so. The demonstration was peaceful and effective, and was felt through more than 80 minutes of Austin FC soccer played eerily without its usual uplifting backbeat. (The club felt its absence too, suffering a 4-1 loss that ended an eight-game unbeaten streak.)

The Verde Report also previously argued that Austin FC should have permitted – or, at least, turned a blind eye toward – Silva’s shirt, even if it violated stadium policy, given the broader context, so as to not pour gasoline onto an already flammable situation.

However, La Murga must know that Austin FC is highly unlikely to issue an independent, organization-wide condemnation of ICE. MLS’s league-wide rules would surely heavily discourage if not prohibit this, but even putting that to the side for a moment, the club would probably be unwise to do so. For starters, supporters’ groups do not represent 100% of a club’s fanbase, and to borrow from an infamous quote by Michael Jordan, Republicans watch soccer too. Second, while sports franchises occupy visible and meaningful space within their communities, they are not political organizations and should not operate as such. If you’re inclined to disagree, consider what the national sports landscape would look like if team owners like Jerry Jones, Robert Kraft, Woody Johnson, and James Dolan leveraged the full might of their franchises toward their own political goals. Finally, pressuring Austin FC into a hypothetical press release does nothing to aid those whose safety is directly threatened by ICE activity. 

It is imperative for both sides to communicate effectively and understand the reasoning for each other’s actions. The alternative is a stalemate that risks permanent deterioration of the relationship between Austin FC and its most vocal fans, to the benefit of absolutely nobody involved.

For more Austin FC news and analysis, visit The Austin Chronicle’s Austin FC hub. Sign up for The Verde Report newsletter to get the latest news delivered straight to your inbox, and follow The Verde Report columnist Eric Goodman on X: @goodman.

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