Philadelphia Union
It’s time to turn the page on Ernst Tanner
It’s been a good run, but it’s time to move on.
Yesterday, Major League Soccer announced an unpaid suspension for Philadelphia Union Sporting Director Ernst Tanner following a 117-day investigation into allegations of racism, sexism, homophobia, the inappropriate touching of a female employee on multiple occasions, and general misconduct.
The Guardian was first to report the allegations late last year, which sparked MLS to re-open a previous investigation regarding the 59-year old German. The investigation officially re-opened on November 19, 2025. And yesterday it was concluded that via outside counsel, Tanner violated “MLS policies and standards of professional conduct required of League and Club leadership.”
The allegations were “substantiated” based on the secondary investigation, however we are still a bit blind as to which allegations are deemed to have actually occurred or not. There is no itemized list of infractions detailing which occurred and which did not.
The suspension comes without pay and runs through June 1st.
The Philadelphia Union, as of now, have not handed down their own punishment or a subsequent secondary suspension. And in order for Tanner to return to MLS for any club, albeit the Union, he needs to complete a “restorative practice program.”
I’m no expert, but a brief search concludes that a restorative practice program may center around a framework focused on building, maintaining, and repairing relationships to manage conflict, reduce punitive discipline, and foster community.
But at this point, is it really worth it for the Union to bring him back? I don’t think so.
Sure, he’s brought some sustained success to a club that largely floated belly up for a period of time before his arrival in 2018. He received a contract extension in 2021 as a result of the progress and success the Union enjoyed since his start date.
But he’s always been a bit rough around the edges, lashing out post-game at officiating for example and trading/selling players on a whim regardless of their attachment to the fanbase and the club.
And yes, he’s made the Union ownership group more money than ever before by finding young talent and selling them to other MLS teams or abroad. But as an organization that tends to pride itself on inclusion and a fortified internal culture, what sense does it make to try and wedge Tanner back into the mix following this outcome from the league’s investigation.
What’s worse is the word choices that Tanner and his legal team have decided to use during this timeframe. It comes across as majorly tone-deaf, almost slightly arrogant, and blind of the optics regarding the situation.
There’s been no official apology from Tanner’s camp, and there likely will never be one. Instead, yesterday Tanner stated that “I regret the impact that situation has had on the Philadelphia Union organization and its supporters.”
Gee, thanks I guess. It reads as if he’s saying ‘I’m sorry if you were offended’ and dodges any sort of accountability or compassion for the proposed turmoil he has caused in the past on multiple occasions.
I’ll reiterate here that we may never know the full story. What is 100% true and what is perhaps not? We’re not sure. And neither is MLS or the Philadelphia Union. The truth likely lies somewhere in between.
But at this point, I think we’ve learned all that is needed to know. The Union should distance themselves from Tanner and he should strongly consider gathering his belongings and return to European soccer. I find it difficult to envision another MLS team signing him onboard, but sometimes in this day and age, money talks loudly so who knows where he lands if not back with Philadelphia on June 2nd.
