Gotham FC revoke fan's season tickets after Barbara Banda verbal abuse incident | OneFootball

Gotham FC announced it has revoked a fan's season tickets and banned the fan from future team activities following an a confirmed incident of a fan directing verbal abuse toward visiting player Barbara Banda in Gotham's match against the Orlando Pride back on March 23.

The incident was originally confirmed shortly after the match, and it did not appear to interfere with the match being played. There are still questions about the exact nature of the incident -- including whether Banda was even aware of it at the time.

But based on interviews with multiple witnesses and a review of security video footage, the club reached the conclusion it could take these disciplinary steps.

The episode was a stain on what was one of the more intriguing matches of the new NWSL season, between the defending NWSL double-winning Pride -- who emerged as 2-0 victors on a pair of first-half goals -- and the 2023 NWSL Championship-winning Gotham.

Banda's banner year

And that Banda was the target of abuse was particularly disheartening given what the Zambia international has meant to the growth of the women's game in Africa, and to her team in the NWSL.

In addition to helping the Pride win its first two major trophies last season, Banda was also 2024 NWSL Championship MVP, becoming the first African player to win the award after her late winner in a 1-0 victory over the Washington Spirit.

That came after a 13-goal regular season that made her an MVP finalist in her first year in the league, anf after a reported $740,000 transfer fee Orlando paid to previous employer, Shanghai Shengli, which was the second most-expensive in the history of the women's game at the time.

On the international level, Banda scored four times in the 2024 Olympic women's football tournament despite Zambia losing all three of its group matches against the United States, Australia and Germany. She was later named the 2024 Africa women's footballer of the year.