Montreal Impact midfielder Miguel Montaño has apologized for his public comments on Twitter following an incident in the Montreal subway on Wednesday. But according to a statement from the Impact, Montaño has filed a complaint with the Société de Transport de Montréal, which is launching an investigation into Montaño’s claim that he was a victim of racism.
Montaño, 20, who does not speak French, was attempting to travel on the Metro on Wednesday morning when two ticket agents reportedly refused to sell him a ticket, saying he did not make his request in French.
Montaño, who is a native of Colombia, promptly wrote about the incident on his Twitter account.
"How racist they are in Montreal," he wrote in Spanish. "They didn't want to sell me a ticket to let me in the metro because I don't speak French." The tweet included the hashtag "#encontradelracismo100%" or "againstracism100%".
He also tweeted that the ticket-taker told him: "'If you live in Montreal, you need to speak French.' I spoke to him in English and he said NO [in] French and he gave me back my cash."
Montaño later apologized via Twitter for his initial outburst, insisting that he encountered an "unacceptable situation" that made him "very angry." He added: “Montreal is not a racist city.”
The Impact's statement, released on Wednesday afternoon, explained that both Montaño and French defender Hassoun Camara, who was accompanying Montaño and was witness to the incident, have filed a complaint of discrimination against the STM.
A spokeswoman for the STM confirmed to the Canadian Press that it will investigate the incident after receiving the formal complaint.
Montaño has appeared in three games this season for the Impact, including one start. He was loaned to the club from the Seattle Sounders in August 2011. The Impact first team is in Los Angeles to play against Chivas USA on Wednesday night.
