Tempers flared amongst some of the traveling supporters after Columbus Crew SC’s upset loss to FC Cincinnati on Wednesday evening. Some near the front of the visiting supporter’s section gave head coach Gregg Berhalter an earful.
The scene was captured by Columbus Dispatch photographer Adam Cairns in a tweet. A followup tweet mentioned that three fans were also yelling at Justin Meram, who responded with comments of his own.
According to several on scene, as Berhalter went by the visiting support at Nippert Stadium, a few inebriated fans began yelling obscenities towards the coach, including asking him to quit. Berhalter then engaged with the fans, but the shouting continued and a fan got agitated and eventually had to be held back. Berhalter was then ushered away by security.
Meram arrived on the scene towards the end of the incident and appeared to ask Berhalter what was going on. He then traded some verbal barbs with the few angry fans in the section as he walked off with his coach.
After a loss like this, between a USL team and an MLS side, and given the build up to this match between in-state foes, frustration is certainly warranted. Fortunately, it was only a select few that were involved in this altercation and nothing more came of it.
UPDATE: The orignal article has been updated to clarify and correct the timeline of Berhalter’s actions. Massive Report regrets the error.