LOS ANGELES (AP) — Aleksandar Katai has been released by the LA Galaxy after a series of alarming social media posts by his wife, Tea.
The Galaxy announced their decision in a terse news release.
"The LA Galaxy have mutually agreed to part ways with midfielder Aleksandar Katai," officials said in the one-sentence statement.
Tea Katai made the posts on her Instagram story earlier this week, and the Galaxy angrily condemned them as racist and violent.
'The LA Galaxy were made aware of a series of racist and violent social media posts by Tea Katai, the wife of LA Galaxy midfielder Aleksandar Katai," officials said in a statement. "The LA Galaxy strongly condemned the social posts and requested their immediate removal. The LA Galaxy stands firmly against racism of any kind, including that which suggests violence or seeks to demean the efforts of those in pursuit of racial equality."
Tea's posts included a photo with the caption urging police to "kill" protesters, which was written in Serbian.
Aleksandar released a statement of his own on his personal Instagram page about his wife's comments.
"The posts made by my wife, Tea Katai, on her social media platforms were unacceptable," Katai said. "These views are not ones that I share and are not tolerated in my family."
Galaxy fans immediately reacted with wide online calls for his dismissal.
A handful of fans gathered by the David Beckham statue outside the club's stadium on Thursday holding a banner reading "No Racists in Our Club" along with a circle and a red line through No. 7, Katai's uniform number.
