DC United broke rules when looking for a new manager
DC United have been fined $25,000 by Major League Soccer for failing to comply with the league’s diversity hiring policy when appointing Wayne Rooney as their head coach.
MLS clubs are required to include two or more candidates from underrepresented groups as part of their ‘finalist group’, where at least one of those candidates must be Black or African-American.
Rooney, who played for the club towards the end of his career, was appointed in July however one of his rivals for the job couldn’t be considered a ‘finalist pool’ interview as DC learned that they wouldn’t be able to take the job.
A statement released by the MLS on Monday said: “The club remained obligated to bring an additional candidate from an underrepresented group into the ‘finalist pool’ or request a waiver from MLS detailing the extenuating circumstances.”
The latest news is another in an extremely disappointing campaign for Rooney and DC as they finished bottom of the MLS’s Eastern Conference.
DC responded with a statement of their own in which they respected “Major League Soccer’s decision in regard to the club’s process of hiring its new head coach earlier this season.”
Official Club Statements in response to the findings released today by Major League Soccer.
— D.C. United (@dcunited) October 31, 2022
They also added that they will make it a “fundamental practice to prioritise interviewing candidates from underrepresented groups for all leadership positions.”
Rooney is currently away on holiday with family in Dubai following the conclusion of the MLS season and is expected to return for pre-season training in January before the league campaign starts towards the end of February time.
