FIFA streamer Castro has spoken out about the controversy surrounding his Dallas United football team, after they were embroiled in racism accusations against a team representing West Ham during a 7v7, $1 million tournament.
On Thursday, June 1, the first day of The Soccer Tournament, Dallas United faced off against a team representing the Premier League’s West Ham United on the opening day of the tournament.
Before the match could conclude, however, former West Ham EPL star Anton Ferdinand led a walk-off, and the fixture was suspended after a Dallas player was accused of using a racial slur against West Ham player Frank Nouble.
Ultimately, after some deliberation, the organizers decided that Dallas United had violated TST’s Code of Conduct, and mutually agreed to withdraw the team from the competition, stating that “all parties involved are unified in wanting to make a statement against racial insensitivity.”
A statement from TST:After conducting an investigation into the final moments of the match between West Ham United and Dallas United, we have concluded that Dallas United violated TST’s code of conduct. We have been in dialogue with leadership from both clubs and we are all…
— TST (@TST7v7) June 2, 2023
After a few days of silence from Dallas United owner Edwin Castro posted a statement to his Twitter account, clearly upset at what had unfolded.
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“The past few days have been so devastating and confusing,” he said. “My intention with Dallas United from the very beginning has always been to give everyone an opportunity and just simply make my parents proud.”
The past few days have been so devastating and confusing. 😞My intention with Dallas United from the very beginning has always been to give everyone an opportunity and just simply make my parents proud.I’ll be back. 💔 pic.twitter.com/4UlwbHWz4D
— Castro1021 (@Castro1021) June 8, 2023
Castro finished the tweet simply by saying “I’ll be back” with a broken heart emoji, though he hasn’t returned to streaming since the incident.
He was banned on Twitch in April 2023 for reasons unknown, though many believe it was likely a DMCA takedown.
The $1 million prize for The Soccer Tournament eventually went to Connecticut-based amateur side Newtown Pride FC, who took down the Canadians of SLC FC 2-0 in the final.