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CBS Sports soccer analyst Oguchi Onyewu apologized on air to fellow analyst Janelly Farias following the USMNT’s dramatic 3-2 win over Mexico in the Nations League Final after joking before the game he was going to “come across this desk and choke you.”
“Early in the show, you know, throughout our banter back and forth, I got carried away for sure,” Onyewu said on the broadcast, per Awful Announcing. “And I said a stupid thing that should’ve never come out of my mouth. And I am deeply sorry for it and I apologize to you and I hope that you can forgive me and don’t take any offense to it. So, I just really want to sincerely apologize for what I said.”
Onyewu also said moments after first making his choking remarks that he was only kidding and shouldn’t have said them. Farias accepted his apology after the match.
“I think the fact that you can say that on national television speaks volumes of you,” she said.
It was one part of what was both a wild game and broadcast. The game itself featured two penalties, extra time, Mexican fans being warned that the game would be halted if they continued doing a homophobic chant and some of those fans later throwing objects on the field that hit players from both teams, including Gio Reyna, who was struck in the head with a bottle.
Matt Ufford @mattufford
I did not have enough characters for:
—the fan who dived off the CBS set
—the game being paused for a fan chant
—projectiles from the stands
—the red card Herrera should have gotten
—Tim Ream
The broadcast also had a bizarre moment after the game when a fan was chased by security behind the set and propelled himself off the rafters.