{"id":140396,"date":"2026-03-17T07:00:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T07:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/140396\/"},"modified":"2026-03-17T07:00:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T07:00:13","slug":"mls-suspends-philadelphia-union-executive-ernst-tanner-after-misconduct-investigation-philadelphia-union","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/140396\/","title":{"rendered":"MLS suspends Philadelphia Union executive Ernst Tanner after misconduct investigation | Philadelphia Union"},"content":{"rendered":"

Major League Soccer announced on Monday that it has suspended Philadelphia Union sporting director Ernst Tanner without pay through 1 June 2026. Tanner had been under league investigation<\/a> since mid-November following a Guardian<\/a> <\/a>report<\/a> detailing wide-ranging allegations of misconduct during his tenure at the Union.<\/p>\n

\u201cBased on new information obtained during outside counsel\u2019s independent review, the investigation substantiated violations of MLS<\/a> policies and standards of professional conduct required of League and Club leadership,\u201d the league said in a statement to the Guardian.<\/p>\n

MLS added that Tanner will be required to complete a league-approved restorative practices program before he is reinstated. MLS offered no further details into what specific details it had substantiated in terms of Tanner\u2019s alleged misconduct.<\/p>\n

MLS\u2019s most recent investigation into Tanner, which was led by law firm Littler Mendelson, was the league\u2019s second investigation into alleged misconduct by the executive. Tanner had previously been investigated after a complaint made early last year by the MLS Players Association (MLSPA) alleged multiple instances of racist, sexist and homophobic behavior, allegations the league was unable to substantiate. The Guardian\u2019s reporting outlined additional allegations and corroborated several within the MLSPA\u2019s complaint. After that report, MLS ordered its investigation reopened and assigned outside counsel to lead it.<\/p>\n

Tanner has denied the allegations throughout, saying in November he would cooperate with the league fully as he \u201c[works] to clear my good name and reputation\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI regret the impact that this situation has had on the Philadelphia Union<\/a> organization and its supporters,\u201d Tanner said in a statement on Monday. \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

\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. The Union will evaluate the best and appropriate structure for the organization following the disciplinary process,\u201d the club said in a statement. \u201cThe Philadelphia Union remains committed to maintaining a safe, respectful, and inclusive environment for everyone associated with our club.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Guardian reported last month<\/a> that the recently reopened investigation had faced hurdles related to some potential witnesses being subjected to non-disclosure agreements. The Union, along with the Littler Mendelson, offered assurances at the time that anybody who wished to speak to league investigators would be allowed to \u201cfully participate\u201d in their investigation without fear of legal action.<\/p>\n

Tanner has spent much of his time on leave overseas, sources said last month. On 17 February, Union owner Richie Graham posted two photos on his publicly available Instagram that included Tanner, along with several business associates. At the time, Tanner remained under league investigation and was prohibited from working for the Union.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe Philadelphia Union had no knowledge of or involvement in this personal trip,\u201d a Union spokesperson told the Guardian at the time. \u201cIt was not connected to club business operations or any official team activity.\u201d<\/p>\n

A source familiar with the investigation and its outcome said on Monday that the length of Tanner\u2019s suspension closely mirrors the length of the suspension given to former New England Revolution head coach Bruce Arena in 2023. Arena was accused of making \u201cinappropriate and insensitive\u201d comments and later resigned from <\/a>the Revolution. He has since joined the San Jose Earthquakes as head coach. As is required of Tanner, Arena was ordered to complete a league-approved restorative practices process.<\/p>\n

A source familiar with the investigation told the Guardian that the league\u2019s suspension of Tanner\u2019s pay starts on Monday; it\u2019s unclear still whether Tanner continued to receive pay during the investigation itself. That leave, the source said, was ordered by the Union, not MLS.<\/p>\n

\u201cMLS is committed to fostering an environment of respect, inclusion, and accountability,\u201d MLS said in its statement. \u201cWe will continue working to ensure our clubs reflect those principles at every level of the organization.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the field, the Union have started 2026 poorly<\/a>, becoming the first team in MLS history to go winless in their opening four matches after compiling the league\u2019s best record a year prior. In their statement, the club said academy director Jon Scheer will serve as interim sporting director.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Major League Soccer announced on Monday that it has suspended Philadelphia Union sporting director Ernst Tanner without pay…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":140397,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[69,71,70],"class_list":{"0":"post-140396","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia","8":"tag-philadelphia","9":"tag-philadelphia-headlines","10":"tag-philadelphia-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140396","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=140396"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140396\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/140397"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=140396"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=140396"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=140396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}