#LA Galaxy releases Aleksandar Katai after wife mocks George Floyd protesters

A professional soccer player in Los Angeles is out of a job after his team found out his wife went on social media to mock George Floyd protestors.

Aleksandar Katai, a 29-year-old midfielder from Serbia, and the LA Galaxy parted ways Friday; the Major League Soccer team bought out the remainder of Katai’s contract, which started in December. Galaxy officials didn’t specify the amount or the length of the contract, the Los Angeles Times reported.

“We believe strongly that we’re a club that represents our staff, represents our players, represents our fans and our community,” team president Chris Klein said. “The decision, in that respect, was not a difficult one. We have to hold to those values. This is not a soccer decision.”

Katai did not comment, but Klein described him as remorseful and “very understanding through this process.”

Katai’s wife, Tea Katai, who is also from Serbia, posted the racist messages Tuesday but has taken them down, according to Times.

One showed a screenshot from a video of two NYPD officers driving their vehicles through a crowd of demonstrators with a caption, in Serbian, that translates as “kill the s—s!”

Another showed an apparent looter with boxes of Nike shoes with the English-language caption “Black Nikes Matter.”

Tea Katai also wrote another post in Serbian that described the protesters as “disgusting cattle,” The Associated Press reported.

Fans reacted swiftly to the posts, demanding the Galaxy release Katai, the Times reported. On Thursday, outside the team’s stadium, four men held a bedsheet-sized banner that read “No Racists in Our Club” with a red line through Katai’s uniform No. 7.