The LA Galaxy confirmed on Friday that the club has parted ways with Aleksandar Katai in the aftermath of his wife's "racist and violent" posts on Instagram.
Katai's wife, Tea, took to social media earlier this week to post a series of now-deleted Instagram stories in the wake of ongoing protests in the U.S. in response to the death of George Floyd. Protests have occurred in all 50 states, as well as a number of countries all over the world, with demonstrators calling for an end to racial inequality and police brutality.
In response to those demonstrations, Tea posted in her native Serbian with stories calling for the killing of protestors, who she referred to as "disgusting cattle," according to the Associated Press.
The Galaxy put out a statement soon after, condemning Tea's comments while reiterating that the club "stands firmly against racism of any kind, including that which suggests violence or seeks to demean the efforts of those in pursuit of racial equality."
A statement from the LA Galaxy on Tea Katai. pic.twitter.com/tfGDMUomIo
— LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy) June 4, 2020
Katai, meanwhile, condemned his wife's posts in his own Instagram post on Wednesday.
"These views are not ones that I share and are not tolerated in my family," Katai said.
The club also stated that team would hold a meeting with Katai to discuss that incident, eventually revealing Friday that the two sides have agreed to part ways.
"The LA Galaxy have mutually agreed to part ways with midfielder Aleksandar Katai," read the entirety of the club's statement on Katai's departure.
Katai joined the Galaxy in September after spending two seasons in MLS as a member of the Chicago Fire. During his time in Chicago, Katai scored 18 goals across 64 matches, with 12 of those goals coming in his first season in MLS. Katai had featured in both of the Galaxy's MLS matches before the league was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, starting both games while featuring for a total of 117 minutes.
Internationally, Katai has featured for Serbia nine times, with three of those appearances coming in 2019. He was the Serbian SuperLiga's top scorer in 2015-16 as a member of Red Stare Belgrade, having scored 23 goals that campaign.
In addition, Katai has featured for Alaves while also having a spell at Olympiacos, although he never appeared for the Greek club as he departed on a series of loan spells.