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The Galaxy have banned a fan from the Angel City Brigade support group following the July 4 match at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson. The team has also restricted access for other fans accused of harassing the MLS team’s management.

Bruce Martin, a 12-year Angel City Brigade member, was banned indefinitely for using a press credential to bring a banner into the stadium not authorized by the team, according to a letter sent to Martin informing him that he cannot attend any Galaxy games in Carson or any other events at Dignity Health Sports Park.

Fans from the same group have been suspended indefinitely for harassing members of Galaxy management, according to a person with knowledge of the decision not authorized to discuss it publicly.

During the home game against Vancouver, fans of the Angel City Brigade, founded in 2007, walked in with several banners protesting immigration raids in Southern California since June 6. Some of the protest banners blamed AEG, the owner of the Galaxy, for remaining quiet while fans were harmed by raids.

Angel City Brigade fans, traditionally located in Sections 121 and 122 of Galaxy’s stadium, left the game at the 12-minute mark in protest. Other groups, such as Galaxians, LA Riot Squad and Galaxy Outlawz, joined them by keeping quiet during the match.

“We have not issued a statement. We recognize the impact that recent events and actions have had on our community,” Galaxy spokesperson Jamie Álvarez said. “For decades, we have honored the rich backgrounds, cultures, and experiences of our fans and staff. Our purpose as a professional sports organization is to unite and support our community around a shared love of this sport. We are focusing on prioritizing the safety, well-being, and sense of belonging for our staff and for our fans.”

Members of the Angel City Brigade protest immigration raids by hoisting a tifo that reads “Fight Ignorance, Not Immigrants” over their fan section at the start of the Galaxy’s match against Vancouver on July 4 at Dignity Health Sports Park.

(Jill Connelly/Para LA Times en Español)

The Dodgers, another team with a large Latino fan base, were also criticized for not saying anything at the beginning of the raids and ultimately pledged to make a $1 million donation to families affected by the raids.

Martin, who last season released a book titled “This is Where My Heart Lies: Through the Eyes of a Supporter,” chronicling his passion as a Galaxy fan, revealed the letter on social media in which he is vetoed. Martin said he was heartbroken by the decision, but fans have supported him and his cause.

“A large percentage of the [Angel City Brigade] has canceled their season tickets,” Martin said. “There are a lot of fans around MLS who have reached out to me. It’s one of my favorite things about the soccer community — how close we are.”

The support from Angel City Brigade, Galaxians, LA Riot Squad, Galaxy Outlawz and other fan groups play a major role in making the Galaxy’s home field at Dignity Health Sports Park a fortress, a stadium where the team did not lose all of last regular season and where it won its sixth MLS title.

On July 12, fans also stopped chanting in protest of “the silence of the L.A. Galaxy” in the face of immigration raids.

“We recognize that the volume in the stadium is different,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said following the team’s game against D.C. United. “As I’ve said before, the fans have a right to take whatever stances they want and our job is to go out and try to win games. We want the fans to come, we want them to feel safe, we want them to feel like this is their club and the place they want to be, and we try to do our job on the field to help make that happen.”

The Galaxy approved the giant tifo used on July 4, which featured three Hispanic figures and a message that read, “Fight Ignorance, Not Immigrants.”

According to the team spokesperson, the club has had multiple discussions — before and after the July 4 game — in individual and small group meetings with leaders of Galaxy supporter groups to try to resolve the issue. The Galaxy works with community groups such as CARECEN [Central American Resource Center,] Heart of Los Angeles and All Peoples Community Center, among others.

This article first appeared in Spanish via L.A. Times en Español.

Gloria Jiménez and Bruce Martin, leaders of a Galaxy supporter group called the Angel City Brigade, are certain this is no time to be quiet.

Since its founding in 2007, the Angel City Brigade, one of the Galaxy’s largest fan groups, has made its voice heard in sections 121 and 122 of Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson.

On Friday, during the typically festive Fourth of July fireworks game, Galaxy supporter groups decided to express their frustration and anger over seeing Southern California’s Latino community targeted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in recent weeks.

The fans say they are upset by the Galaxy management’s silence amid ICE’s presence in the Latino community. The majority of Galaxy fans are Latino, but the team has not issued any statements in support of fans, remaining as quiet as the Dodgers until the MLB team felt pressure and made a $1 million donation to benefit families impacted by the raids.

The Galaxy and representatives of the teams’ supporter groups have held closed-door talks, but it didn’t lead to a public statements by the club. Before the match against the Whitecaps on Thursday outside Dignity Health Sports Park, Angel City Brigade displayed signs that read “Stop the Raids,” “Free Soil” and “No One is Illegal.

At the end of the national anthem, “Victoria Block,” the section where most of the Galaxy’s fan groups stand, unfurled a tifo with three images: a farm worker; Roy Benavidez, a U.S. Army Medal of Honor recipient; and Elena Rios, president of the National Hispanic Health Foundation. At the bottom, the banner read: “Fight Ignorance, Not Immigrants.”

Members of the Angel City Brigade, including Gloria Jiménez, center, protest ICE raids in Southern California during the Galaxy’s game against Vancouver on Friday at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson.

(Jill Connelly/Especial para LA Times en Español)

During the 12th minute of the match, the Angel City Brigade left the stands in protest. Supporter groups the Galaxians and Galaxy Outlawz protested silently, carrying no drums or trumpets. They also did not sing or chant during the game.

“What’s going on in Los Angeles has nothing to do with the players. They know that. What’s going on in Los Angeles we don’t like,” Manuel Martínez, leader of the Galaxy Outlawz, said before the match. “I belong to a family of immigrants who became citizens. So we know the struggle that people go through. We know that there are hard working, innocent workers out there.”

The Riot Squad, on the other side of the stadium, also remained silent during and displayed a message that read: “We like our Whiskey Neat, and our Land and People Free.”

Members of the Angel City Brigade hold up a sign that reads “Smash Ice” during the Galaxy’s match against Vancouver on Friday at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson.

(Jill Connelly/Especial para LA Times en Español)

This is not the first time Galaxy fan groups have taken action when they were unhappy team management.

Angel City Brigade, along with other groups such as LA Riot Squad, Galaxy Outlawz and the Galaxians, led boycott while demanding the removal of then-team president Chris Klein following mismanagement and decisions they felt didn’t make the team competitive enough to win. Their effort paid off: Klein stepped down and new management eventually led the club to its sixth MLS championship secured at the end of last season.

On Friday, in addition to issuing a statement reaffirming their “non-discriminatory principles, which oppose exclusion and prejudice based on race, origin, gender identity, sexuality or gender expression,” the fans decided to organize a fundraiser to support pro-immigrant organizations affected by the Trump administration’s budget cuts: Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA), Border Kindness and Immigrant Defenders Law Center.

To raise funds, they sold T-shirts with an image of a protester in Chinatown confronting an ICE agent.

“This is our way of showing that we want to help, and to fight what’s going on,” said Martin, a Los Angeles native.

The T-shirt sales raised $4,000 for the three organizations.

Previously, Angel City Brigade, like other Galaxy supporter groups, decided not to travel to the June 28 road match against the Earthquakes in San José as a precaution against the raids. About 600 Galaxy fans typically attend the road match.

“We have members who have not been able to work. We have members who have not been able to, go out to games or attend events. San José would have been one of them,” Jiménez said. “We decided that as a group, we couldn’t travel without leaving our brothers and sisters here. So in solidarity with the people who can’t attend because of fear of what’s going on, we decided to cancel the event.”

While the other two professional soccer teams in Los Angeles — LAFC and Angel City FC — have issued public statements in support of the Latino immigrant community, the Galaxy’s ownership has not addressed the issue. Angel City took its support further, wearing “Immigrant City Football Club” warm-up shirts, giving some shirts away to fans and selling more on its website as a fundraiser to support an organization that provides legal support for immigrants.

So far, the only member of the Galaxy who has addressed the issue publicly is head coach Greg Vanney.

“I think we all know someone who is probably affected by what’s going on, so it’s hard from a human standpoint not to have compassion for the families and those who are affected by what’s going on,” Vanney said prior to a game against St. Louis City SC in June.

“We have to really help each other, versus expecting others to do it,” Jiménez said. “That the support didn’t come from our team, as we expected, broke our hearts into a thousand pieces.”

In the past, the Galaxy and supporter groups have collaborated while celebrating various Latin American countries, incorporating their cultural symbols into team merchandise. But amid the Galaxy’s silence, fans are starting to doubt the sincerity of the cultural celebrations.

“It’s sad and disappointing to me. This team that has been in Los Angeles since the mid-1990s, and they’ve leveraged the culture for publicity. When they signed [Mexican soccer star] Chicharito for example, they were strong on Mexican culture and things like that. So when this all started, you would think that they would be for their culture, that they would be there for the fans,” Jiménez said. “And by not saying anything, it doesn’t say that they really care about it. Families are being torn apart and they just stay silent.”

Jiménez said there isn’t a day that goes by that she doesn’t cry or feel anger about the ICE raids.

“We already know what we are to them, we are not friends or family,” she said of the Galaxy. “We are fans and franchise.”

Martin said he has received messages on social media, including from Galaxy fans and supporters of other teams, criticizing his stance. However, Angel City Brigade said its members made a unanimous decision to protest.

“We have always had moments where we have a very clear vision about how we feel,” Jiménez said. “And I think this is one of the times when everyone has made the same decision.”

Galaxy fans plan to stage more protests during the team’s next home match.

This article first appeared in Spanish via L.A. Times en Español.

Mexico’s Monterrey advanced to the round of 16 at the Club World Cup by thrashing Urawa Red Diamonds 4-0 on Wednesday at the Rose Bowl in the third and final match of the group stage, while Argentina’s River Plate was eliminated with a 2-0 loss to Inter Milan in Seattle.

As the third-place team in Group E, the Rayados needed to win, scoring as many goals as possible, and then hope for a winner at Lumen Field during the match between River Plate and Inter Milan, because if the match was tied 2-2, Monterrey would be eliminated no matter what happened in Pasadena.

But Inter Milan’s win gave the club first place in the group with seven points, followed by Monterrey with five and River Plate with four points. Urawa did not earn any group points.

“We have to enjoy now, the present,” said Domenec Torrent, Monterrey’s technical director. “I’m very happy for the people who came here and for Mexican soccer in general.”

Torrent added that he was happy to finish unbeaten during three group stage matches, earning one win and two draws.

“We knew it was going to be a complex match. Urawa, despite being eliminated, we knew they were going to play a difficult game,” Monterrey midfielder Óliver Torres said. “In fact, in the first few minutes they made it very difficult for us. After the goal, we started to grow in the match. We knew it was a very important day for all the club’s workers, for all the fans who were here and at home, and well, for all of Mexico.”

Monterrey settled the match in a matter of nine minutes.

Monterrey’s Germán Berterame, front, and Sergio Ramos embrace after winning their Club World Cup Group E match against Urawa on Wednesday at the Rose Bowl.

(Jae Hong / Associated Press)

Colombian Nelson Deossa fired a powerful shot from outside the box at Urawa goalkeeper Shūsaku Nishikawa, who could not block the shot as the ball rolled in for a goal in the 30th minute. Two minutes later, Argentine Germán Berterame fired a low shot on the right side of the Japanese goal and scored. Then, Jesús “Tecatito” Corona fired a long-range missile, extending Monterrey’s lead to 3-0. The fourth goal came in stoppage time when Berterame finished off a diagonal cross from the right.

“I didn’t expect what tonight was like,” said Berterame of his brace, the win and the qualification. “We were coming to win, but I think it was a dream night.”

Monterrey will face Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta while Inter Milan will face Fluminense on Monday at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C., in the round of 16 of the tournament.

Monterrey fans cheer for their team during a Club World Cup Group E soccer match against Urawa Red Diamonds at the Rose Bowl on Wednesday.

(Jae Hong / Associated Press)

“The next game we know is very difficult,” said Torrent, who added Dortmund plays a style very similar to Inter Milan. “It’s another European team that competes very well, they have won things. We already know how they play, I’ve seen them very well.”

“Every game is like a chess match. Getting through the group was not easy. It’s going to be very difficult for them to beat us and if they beat us, let the fans know that we’re going to give everything.”

Sergio Ramos’ Monterrey and Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami are the only two CONCACAF teams to survive the first round, as Pachuca, Seattle and LAFC were eliminated during the group stage.

This article first appeared in Spanish via L.A. Times en Español.

Amid the Dodgers’ silence about federal immigration raids in Southern California, a familiar voice that has comforted immigrants for years emerged.

Jaime Jarrín, the former Spanish-language voice of the Dodgers who captivated thousands of fans for decades and served as Fernando Valenzuela’s translator during Fernandomania, posted a message on his Instagram account about the raids and protests in a city he adopted as his own in 1958.

“As an immigrant who came to this country 70 years ago, I know firsthand the hope, courage and determination it takes to build a new life in a new land,” Jarrín posted Tuesday. “I have always believed that immigration is not just part of the American story; it is the American story.”

“Los Angeles is my home,” Jarrín added in his Instagram post. “This city is my family. And it breaks my heart to see the growing division in our community and across the country. We all deserve to be treated with dignity, respect and humanity.”

Former Dodgers Spanish language broadcaster Jaime Jarrín posted a message in support of immigrants and protestors following to weeks of ICE raids.

(Fernando Llano / Associated Press)

The message from the Baseball Hall of Fame inductee and Dodgers ambassador was celebrated while critics grew more vocal opposing the team’s silence following ICE raids and protests in the Los Angeles area the past two weeks. A Dodgers spokesman said the team would announce plans to aid immigrants on Thursday, but it delayed the announcement after turning away federal agents who tried to use the team parking lot after conducting raids at the Hollywood Home Depot and surrounding areas.

Jarrín is originally from Quito, Ecuador, and his first job in this country was in a factory in East Los Angeles. Over time, Jarrín became the sports director for KWKW and a Dodgers broadcaster for more than six decades. Jarrín worked alongside Valenzuela when he was a rookie in Major League Baseball in 1981, serving as his translator during Fernandomania in the 1980s. They later shared microphones in the radio booth broadcasting Dodger games in Spanish.

“In the face of the injustices and suffering we have witnessed, I am deeply proud of the thousands who have peacefully taken to the streets; raising their voices, refusing to be silenced. Their courage matters. Your presence matters. Do not be afraid. Stand strong. Stay present. Let your voice be heard,” added Jarrín.

President Donald Trump’s massive deportation orders have affected the professional sports atmosphere in Los Angeles. The games typically draw Latinos and immigrants from a wide range of countries. Tournaments such as the Gold Cup and the Club World Cup lost fans as some stayed away from stadiums because they feared potential raids or preferred to show solidarity with the demonstrations.

Of Los Angeles’ 12 professional sports teams, as of Friday morning, only two have issued public statements about the raids. Angel City FC and LAFC have shown their support for the community since the protests began, while the Dodgers and Galaxy, with a heavily Latino and immigrant fan bases, have remained silent.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has responded to some questions from reporters, but he has limited his remarks to saying he understood that the community is “heartbroken” and said the situation was somewhat “unsettling for everyone.”

Fan favorite Kiké Hernández took to his social networks to say he was “sad and enraged” at how immigrants were treated, noting the city of Los Angeles had opened its arms to him.

The Puerto Rican player, who helped the Dodgers win the World Series last season, wrote: “Maybe I wasn’t born and raised here, but this city adopted me as if I was one of them. I am too sad and infuriated with everything that is going on in the country and in our city. Los Angeles and Dodger fans have opened their arms to me, supported me and shown me a lot of kindness and most of all a lot of LOVE! This is my second home,” posted Hernandez, who was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and is in his second stint with the Dodgers after playing in L.A. from 2015-20 and returning from 2023 to the present.

“I cannot tolerate watching our community continue to be violated, attacked, abused and separated. ALL people deserve to be treated with respect, dignity and their human rights. I stand with you!!! #CiudadDeImigrantes,” the Dodger wrote on Sunday, using a hashtag referring to L.A. as a city of immigrants in Spanish.

Meanwhile, Maria Valenzuela, the daughter of legendary pitcher Fernando Valenzuela, spoke out against the ICE raids.

“I am a proud daughter of immigrant parents. They came to this country with dreams bigger than borders. My mother followed her heart, and my father not only pitched for the Dodgers, but for all immigrants who believed they belonged in this country,” Maria Valenzuela posted on Instagram. “He helped shape a city and inspired generations of Mexicans to dream big. Behind the fame was the same immigrant story: sacrifice, struggle and endless work for a better future.”

This article first appeared in Spanish via L.A. Times en Español.

It’s been 12 months since Arrow McLaren driver Pato O’Ward tasted arguably the biggest defeat of his career. He was leading the competition until the final lap in the Indy 500 when he was passed by Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden.

That afternoon, O’Ward wept bitterly after again being denied the ultimate victory at a track where he has performed well. During his three Indy 500 appearances, the Monterrey, Mexico, native has two second-place finishes — in 2022 and 2024 — and $3.16 million in winnings.

O’Ward enters Sunday’s 109th Indianapolis 500 (9:45 a.m. PDT on Fox) as the slight favorite to win the Indy 500.

The other major contender on Sunday is Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou of Spain. The Sant Antoni de Vilamajor native, the reigning IndyCar Series defending champion, has won four of the season’s five races, although he has never won the Indianapolis 500.

Pato O’Ward, front and center, is comforted by a crew member after finishing second in the Indianapolis 500 on May 26, 2024, in Indianapolis.

(Darron Cummings / Associated Press)

For many, O’Ward also is a sentimental favorite after showing he can rally from setbacks and compete for wins. O’Ward finished last season in fifth place, with three wins and six top-five finishes. He is fourth in the standings with two top-five finishes and one pole.

“It’s the hunger to win, to be able to come back and have another shot. I love what I do, I love my job,” O’Ward told L.A. Times en Español when asked about his resilience heading into Sunday’s race.

This week, the native of Monterrey decided to prepare pozole and quesadillas for his team. When he’s in Indianapolis, he usually tries to avoid the hustle and bustle and concentrate on winning.

“I live, breathe and sleep with racing,” said O’Ward, whose racing career began in karting in 2005.

“This has been a goal that’s been living pretty much in my head for many years,” added O’Ward, who qualified 232.098 mph on the 2.5-mile oval and will enter Sunday’s front row, the first Mexican to do so in the history of the Indy 500.

O’Ward, who drives the No. 5 car, has seven IndyCar Series victories and has progressed far from his early days as an inexperienced kid who shyly gave media interviews.

He has kept a tight circle around him as he has worked to improve.

“For people on the outside, it’s hard for us to welcome them because I like to keep things pretty tight-lipped,” said O’Ward, whose team is made up mostly of family members. “It’s people you trust them with your eyes closed and you always know they’re doing their best for you.”

Today, O’Ward is one of the leading faces of the series, with thousands of fans from around the world wearing T-shirts with his name on them to support him in a stadium that has already sold out its 250,000 seats despite the drama surrounding last year’s winning team.

Team Penske has been in the spotlight after it was punished for using modified attenuators, which resulted in failed technical inspections last Sunday. The team was accused of stuffing and smoothing the seams of the rear attenuator, a part that is standard for all teams and therefore cannot be modified.

Pato O’Ward drives into the second turn during the IndyCar Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis on May 10.

(Michael Conroy / Associated Press)

Upon hearing the news, O’Ward showed his frustration. IndyCar on Monday announced penalties to Team Penske for placing Newgarden and Will Power in the final starting positions for the race, as well as $100,000 fines for each car that failed inspections.

The Team Penske car, which Newgarden won with in 2024, is now in the renovated IMS Museum and features a modified rear attenuator similar to the one seen Sunday at Indianapolis that resulted in penalties. In addition, photos have been released from last year’s race in which the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet appears to have those same modifications.

“Looking ahead to the remainder of the week and this weekend’s race, we will do everything we can to make it clear that these are not only the best races on the planet, but races where the best win under completely fair conditions,” Indycar President J. Douglas Boles said in a statement.

After learning of the punishments, Team Penske owner Roger Penske fired three Team Penske executives: President Tim Cindric, Chief Executive Ron Ruzewski and general manager Kyle Moyer.

Roger Penske owns the IndyCar Series through Penske Entertainment Group, in addition to owning Indianapolis Motor Speedway, home of the Indy 500, creating more questions about the perceptions of conflict of interest ahead of Sunday’s race and the rest of the IndyCar Series season.

Palou wants his first Indy 500 win

Palou, known for his calm, consistency and composure on the track, has yet to win the Indy 500. Despite having four wins in the first five races of the season, drawing comparisons to the four straight victories by the legendary A.J. Foyt in 1964, Palou is not satisfied and wants a “life-changing” win.

Palou scored a second-place finish in 2021 in the Indy 500 and earned $2.8 million from that race.

“Obviously, it’s the one race that I know and that we all know is life-changing for a driver. I’ve won four this year and it hasn’t changed my life,” Palou, 28, explained to L.A. Times en Español. “On the other hand, winning this weekend’s 500, the 500 miles, I believe and I know that it changes the life of the drivers who win it.”

Palou, the winner of the 2021, 2023 and 2024 IndyCar championships, qualified at 231.378 mph in his No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing car to start sixth on the grid Sunday.

Spain’s Alex Palou, center, celebrates after winning the IndyCar Grand Prix auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis on May 10. Pato O’Ward, of Mexico, left, finished second and Will Power, of Australia, finished third.

(Michael Conroy / Associated Press)

The Spaniard said he is going through the best moment of his career, not only in sport, but also in his personal life, as he enjoys spending time with his 18-month old daughter, Lucia, born in 2023.

“It’s harder, it’s a lot more work and it’s impossible to have a good strategy to win that competition because every day it changes,” Palou said about caring for his daughter. “But it has been the best thing I’ve ever done in my life. The feeling when she smiles, when she hugs me or when she tells me something. She’s 18 months old now, but she’s still starting to say ‘Daddy’ and she’s starting to say things and it’s amazing.”

Despite winning the second championship in a row, Palou said his team has continued its intense pace.

“I would say that basically that’s the great work of the team and that after winning the championship no one has relaxed. That’s what’s most impressive that it was the other way around, if not that they put in even more effort than they had in 2024,” Palou said.

Palou has also given a lot of credit to his father, who has been his mechanic since he started in karting.

“We spent many, many hours together and many, many bad moments, very hard and also many good ones, but in the end he has been the person who has taught me … to go fast, to brake harder, to have more speed in mid-corner and also how to get up after a bad moment,” Palou said.

Palou was the first Spaniard to win an IndyCar championship in 2021 and wants to continue to inspire future generations of Spanish drivers by proving that you can not only make it to this circuit, but also succeed.

Prema Racing rookie Robert Shwartzman will make his Indy 500 debut in the pole position. It is the first time a rookie has won the Indy 500 pole since 1953. Takuma Sato, a two-time race winner, will join Shwartzman and O’Ward on the front row.

This article first appeared in Spanish via L.A. Times en Español.