{"id":660519,"date":"2026-03-16T21:25:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T21:25:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/660519\/"},"modified":"2026-03-16T21:25:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T21:25:14","slug":"unions-ernst-tanner-suspended-by-mls-after-investigation-into-allegations-of-inappropriate-behavior-closes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/660519\/","title":{"rendered":"Union\u2019s Ernst Tanner suspended by MLS after investigation into allegations of inappropriate behavior closes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Major League Soccer announced Monday that it has suspended Philadelphia Union Sporting Director Ernst Tanner<\/a> without pay until June 1, and that Tanner \u201cmust successfully complete a league-approved restorative practices program\u201d before he can be reemployed by the league.<\/p>\n

MLS\u2019s decision came after completing its investigation into allegations of inappropriate workplace behavior that were reported by The Guardian last November<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cBased on new information obtained during outside counsel\u2019s independent review, the investigation substantiated violations of MLS policies and standards of professional conduct required of league and club leadership,\u201d the league\u2019s statement read.<\/p>\n

Tanner had been placed on administrative leave by the Union<\/a> after MLS reopened its investigation into the allegations that he often used racist, sexist and homophobic language and made repeated inappropriate physical contact with a staff member.<\/p>\n

The league\u2019s initial investigation ended with it unable to corroborate the allegations against Tanner. Even so, it required him to participate in a program addressing professional workplace conduct.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Guardian\u2019s reporting<\/a> outlined six of the eight MLS Players Association\u2019s allegations made against Tanner, as well as other incidents during his seven years with the Union, and claimed to speak with 17 unidentified sources, including current and former Union employees.<\/p>\n

\u201cBased on the findings from Major League Soccer\u2019s investigation, the Philadelphia Union supports the league\u2019s disciplinary action and restorative practices program for Sporting Director Ernst Tanner,\u201d the club responded in its own statement<\/a>. \u201cThe Union will evaluate the best and appropriate structure for the organization following the disciplinary process.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Union told the Guardian<\/a> that Tanner had also undergone workplace conduct training earlier in his time with the club.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI regret the impact that this situation has had on the Philadelphia Union organization and its supporters.\u201d Tanner said in his statement provided by the Union. \u201cI remain proud of my work with the Philadelphia Union and look forward to my return and future work with the team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tanner, from Germany, joined the club in 2018 as its second-ever sporting director, the top position for soccer operations. Since his arrival, the club has won two MLS Supporters\u2019 Shield titles. In 2022, Tanner was named MLS Sporting Executive of the Year. He denied the allegations when the investigation was reopened in November.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The team\u2019s Director of Academy and Professional Development John Scheer is serving as interim sporting director.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Both MLS and the Union said they are committed to maintaining an inclusive environment at every level.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Major League Soccer announced Monday that it has suspended Philadelphia Union Sporting Director Ernst Tanner without pay until…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":660520,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5132],"tags":[5229,6071,6656,1448,2830,1311,8895,221,62,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-660519","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-major-league-soccer","10":"tag-mls","11":"tag-pa","12":"tag-pennsylvania","13":"tag-philadelphia","14":"tag-philadelphia-union","15":"tag-soccer","16":"tag-sports","17":"tag-united-states","18":"tag-united-states-of-america","19":"tag-unitedstates","20":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","21":"tag-us","22":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116240969299257689","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/660519","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=660519"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/660519\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/660520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=660519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=660519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=660519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}