DENVER — A few hours before the Concacaf Nations League semifinals Thursday, the stadium’s public address announcer practiced pronunciations of player names and other standard declarations to be used before and during the matches.
He also fine-tuned messages addressing the darker side of games involving the Mexico men’s national soccer team: a derogatory slur used by many fans.
Organizers on Thursday at Empower Field at Mile High hoped periodic announcements in the stadium would persuade fans to refrain from using such language. Regional and international governing bodies had stepped up efforts to eradicate it from stadiums, turning to social media campaigns and threats of ejection and game forfeiture.