It was a red card offense.
A diehard Major League Soccer fan was kicked out of a Missouri stadium for wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat during a match, according to shocking footage from the game.
Michael Weitzel was sporting the signature red cap inspired by President Trump’s campaign slogan at the July 26 St. Louis City SC soccer game at Energizer Park when security approached and asked him to leave with about 25 minutes remaining.
The brief incident, which Weitzel filmed and posted on social media, unfolded after someone filed a complaint with stadium police mid-game.
“I didn’t think there’d be any issue with wearing that to the game, but with about 25 minutes left in the game, I was basically told they’d received a complaint about my hat,” the season ticket holder told KFTK’s Mar Cox Morning Show.
“They told me I could either hide the hat or take it out to my car or leave. I’m not gonna take my hat off for anybody. I live in America, which is the land of the free and the home of the brave, I thought. So you do what you have to do.”
The 32-acre St. Louis stadium prohibits political banners, flags, images, and signs inside the arena unless pre-approved, according to the Fan Code of Conduct listed on the soccer club’s website.
In Weitzel’s video, he’s seen wearing the MAGA hat and a red shirt as four security guards approach and calmly explain that the club doesn’t allow political symbols inside the stadium and ask him to leave.
“I’m being asked to leave by police. I am being threatened with arrest. They are asking me to leave,” Weitzel said as he’s being escorted out of the match, with some onlookers jeering and booing behind him.
“I am being evicted from the premises because of Donald Trump – because we can’t wear Donald Trump hats in public. Now I am being evicted from the premises. Trump is not welcome at St. Louis City SC club. Trump is not welcome here.”
An officer leading Weitzel out of the building told him he was also a Trump supporter, but said he was simply enforcing the club’s rules.
“He gets it, he’s just following the rules,” Weitzel said, the footage shows.
“It’s not his fault. This is the stadium’s rules here. So that’s what happens if you wear a Donald Trump hat to a St. Louis City Soccer Club game.”
Weitzel told KFTK he was minding his own business during the game – ignoring attendees who were “flipping him the bird” – and was stunned that today’s political climate has sparked incidents like this.
He’s now reluctant to return to Energizer Stadium, even after purchasing three years’ worth of tickets to support the St. Louis team.
“I do want to see them do well,” Weitzel told the morning show.
“I don’t really want to let the actions of a few small-minded people or a few angry complainers stop me from enjoying something that I love.”
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