On Friday night at Rio Tinto Stadium during Utah Royals FC’s match against the Portland Thorns, there were public reports of racist and homophobic comments coming from a fan in attendance. Stadium security responded immediately, but the individual could not be identified by anyone in the section and the obscene language stopped for the remainder of the match. Subsequently, in the continuing investigation in the aftermath of the event, fans and security were unable to identify the fan that made the obscene comments, although that investigation is ongoing.

In accordance with the Rio Tinto Stadium Code of Conduct policy, we want to reiterate that racist and homophobic language is unacceptable and will not be tolerated at Rio Tinto Stadium. When violators of this policy are identified, they will be removed from the stadium immediately and subject to additional sanctions.

We work closely with our stadium security personnel and they will be on high alert in future matches. We have faith in our fans to represent the community well in support of the clubs and players on the field – but if further incidents of racism and homophobia occur, we encourage fans to immediately alert the nearest stadium security/staff in their section and contact stadium personnel on the fan text line at (801)996-4042.