The U.S. Open Cup Adjudication and Discipline Panel announced Thursday that it had found insufficient evidence to conclude that a Portland Timbers player used a racial slur during a U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinal match between the Timbers and LAFC on July 18.

The investigation was opened after LAFC forward Adama Diomande claimed in an Instagram post that he was called a racial slur by a Timbers player during the match.

It took three weeks for the U.S. Open Cup Adjudication and Discipline Panel to conclude the investigation.

During the lengthy review process, the Panel spoke with all the players involved in the alleged incident, reviewed the match official's report and evaluated written statements and video evidence provided by both the Timbers and LAFC.

The accused player, who was not named, strongly denied using a racial slur throughout the investigation process.

During the review process, no other individual was able to confirm that they heard the alleged racial slur. The Panel also acknowledged that the incident occurred while "multiple speakers spoke at the same time in multiple languages during a tense situation, which could allow one individual to misunderstand another individual."

A portion of the U.S. Open Cup Adjudication and Discipline Panel's written decision was provided to the media Thursday:

"...this is a case of a dispute over what was said between players on the playing field, amidst noise, confusion and multiple speakers speaking at once and in at least two languages. The match official did not hear the statement in question and did not issue a caution based on the incident, nor did any other player in the vicinity come forward to confirm they heard the alleged statement...Given the possibility that it is always possible to mishear or misunderstand another individual in a tense situation, the Panel concluded it does not have a basis to value the credibility of one player over another in this matter."

The Timbers released a statement following the announcement of the Panel's findings:

"The Portland Timbers have and will always stand for inclusion, tolerance and acceptance. Those values are at the heart of our organization and the community we proudly represent... It is regrettable that there was even a suggestion of any wrongdoing by a Timbers player, but we are pleased that ultimately due process was observed. We stand unequivocally behind out players and are deeply grateful for the unparalleled support of our fans."

The Timbers also indicated in their statement that they did not believe the incident occurred as Diomande claimed.

"It is our strong belief that the alleged incident at the U.S. Open Cup match as depicted by the opposing player simply did not happen."

Timbers statement regarding today’s decision by the U.S. Open Cup Adjudication and Discipline Panel. pic.twitter.com/tE9nCmK9yB — Portland Timbers (@TimbersFC) August 9, 2018

LAFC released a statement of its own saying that they accepted the findings of the investigation, but were disappointed with the Timbers' statement following the conclusion of the investigation.

"We are disappointed that the Portland Timbers released a statement that was dismissive of our player and the investigation by concluding it 'simply did not happen.' We stand by Adama Diomande and his courageous public statement."

Despite the insufficient evidence, the Panel condemned all forms of racial abuse in its release to the media Thursday.

"U.S. Soccer bylaws expressly prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin, among other protected characteristics, and the FIFA Code of Ethics provides in relevant part that players shall not 'offend the dignity or integrity of a ... person ... through contemptuous, discriminatory or denigratory words or actions on account of race, skin colour, ethnicity.'"

-- Jamie Goldberg | jgoldberg@oregonian.com

503-853-3761 | @jamiebgoldberg