A celebratory remark after a soccer game deepens rift between Haiti and the Dominican Republic
It took six words after a soccer match to unleash racial, political and economic tensions that have long simmered between Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
“L’Hispaniola c’est Haiti! This is Haiti!” star player Wilson Isidor shouted after helping Haiti beat the Dominican Republic 4-1 in Santo Domingo.
Hispaniola is the Caribbean island shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic, two neighbors with a long and troubled history. The reaction was swift.
“We have very bad news for…Haiti’s team,” Dominican Sports Minister Kelvin Cruz said Friday as he announced that Haiti would no longer be allowed to play in the Dominican Republic.
Reached Monday, he said only that he stood by his announcement.
Cruz did not mention Isidor or his remarks, but accused Haitian fans of damaging the stadium’s infrastructure. Dominican authorities also used pepper spray on Haitians as some peacefully streamed into the stadium for Thursday’s game, with some Dominicans blaming their government for not controlling the crowd.
On Saturday, the Dominican Soccer Federation filed a formal complaint with CONCACAF, the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Football Association, about what occurred on Thursday. A CONCACAF spokesperson did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
As the Dominican Republic prepares for its 2028 elections, presidential hopefuls have seized on the incident to promise an intensified crackdown on Haitian migrants, with one going as far as to say he would enslave them.
Celebration ignites longtime tensions
The fallout from the game is the latest flashpoint to drive a wedge between the two countries that share a bloody history.
The game was played a day before the 89th anniversary of the Parsley Massacre, when Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo ordered the killing of thousands of Haitians along the shared border.
One fan held up a sign Thursday in Haitian Creole that read, “A great tribute to those who fell on Oct. 2, 1937. Today this match is played in your memory.”
Isidor’s remarks about La Hispaniola being Haitian have gone viral, with social media users debating historical facts and wishing a good day to everyone “except the Haitians;” one person even compared Isidor’s comments to a German player giving a Nazi salute.
One video posted online and captioned “4-1” streams wealthy areas of the Dominican Republic above impoverished areas in Haiti.
