The Columbus Crew have fired Crew 2 head coach Federico Higuain over a sexist confrontation with a female referee last month.
Higuain, a star forward for the Crew from 2012-19, has coached the franchise’s MLS NEXT Pro affiliate since Jan. 29, 2025.
During an Aug. 23 match against Huntsville City FC, Higuain “strongly” shook the hand of a female official and told her, “Don’t forget, this is a man’s game,” according to The Athletic.
Higuain, 41, received a red card and served a two-match suspension after the mid-game incident. He returned to the team earlier this month and coached in three additional games.
On Sunday, the referees’ union released a statement calling the two-match ban insufficient for “two deliberate acts of physical abuse and sexism.”
The Crew parted ways with Higuain on Tuesday.
“We determined it’s in the best interest of our Club, players and support staff to dismiss Federico Higuain from his responsibilities,” general manager Issa Tall said in a statement. “After conversations this week and further assessing the past month, our Club’s standards of what’s expected from a leader for one of our teams have not been met.”
Higuain tallied 60 goals and 67 assists in 232 career MLS matches with Columbus, D.C. United (2020) and Inter Miami (2020-21). The Argentina native was the MLS Newcomer of the Year in 2012.
–Field Level Media
