Minnesota United wingback Joseph Rosales will serve a three-match suspension over an alleged slur toward a Vancouver player in April, MLS said Wednesday.
MLS said it was a violation of the league’s Joint Non-Discrimination Policy and Rosales’ reinstatement following the suspension is contingent upon his participation in a restorative practices program.
Rosales will miss two MLS matches: at Houston on Wednesday and St. Louis City on Saturday as well as the U.S. Open Cup match against St. Louis on May 21.
Rosales had a contentious exchange with Whitecaps attacker Emmanuel Sabbi late in the Loons’ 3-1 loss at Allianz Field on April 27. Rosales has since denied he said a racial comment, including directly to Loons Chief Soccer Officer Khaled El-Ahmad.
Loons head coach Eric Ramsay backed Rosales after Tuesday’s training session.
“These situations, in general, are really tricky because I don’t think anyone is ever going to be able to say in concrete either way as to what happened,” Ramsay said. “Of course, Joe is in our camp here and … I’ve known him for a year, everyone else has known him for that amount of time and longer. Everyone trusts him, likes him, has zero question marks against him. I can only put myself in that bracket and do my best to really support Joe around what is a tricky set of circumstances.”
Since the incident, Ramsay has taken Rosales out of the starting lineup in the last two matches, while subbing him into both second halves.
“The fact that I’ve been able to take him out of the team and give him a little bit of space has been with that in mind, to make sure he doesn’t feel any unnecessary pressure,” Ramsay said.
Anthony Markanich started the last two matches at left wing back, scoring a goal apiece against Austin FC and Inter Miami. But he injured his ankle in the 4-1 win over Inter Miami on Saturday and subbed out at halftime. He will miss the Houston match, but Ramsay said Markanich will be in a candidate to play Saturday.
Kieren Chandler is in line for his MLS debut against Houston on Wednesday night. The club signed the 19-year-old to a short-term loan from MNUFC2 on Wednesday.
The Loons drafted Chandler 43rd overall in the 2025 draft, and the University of Connecticut product played 90 minutes in the 1-0 win over Louisville City in the U.S. Open Cup round of 31 on May 7. He leads the Loons second team with three assists in 387 minutes over five matches this spring.
“He is a really interesting player,” Ramsay said. “I would say has a lot of really similar qualities to the left back at Vancouver (19-year-old Tate Johnson) who has hit the ground running from the college system.
“Someone I would have a lot of faith in putting into an MLS game,” Ramsay continued. “I know players really value what he brings, a level of tenacity and competitiveness but also a real calmness on the ball and a real quality on the ball.”
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