The LA Galaxy wanted to start the 2023 season with a bang, playing against MLS Cup champions and bitter rival LAFC at the Rose Bowl on February 25th. Instead, the club which has won the most MLS Cups and have recently missed the playoffs four of the last five seasons since 2017, got a brutal message from their supporter’s clubs, it’s Chris Klein and Jovan Kirovski or us.

Chris Klein is the president of the LA Galaxy since 2013 and under his watch the club has fallen from champion to sideshow. The culmination of the debacle and the tipping point for the supporters’ clubs was the Galaxy’s illegal payments to Cristian Pavon made in 2019 which resulted in club president Chris Klein being suspended until the primary (spring) transfer window of 2023.

Andrew Alesana, 35, leader of the LA Riot Squad since 2020 and a season ticket holder for the club since 2007, spoke to Bolavip about the supporters’ groups collective grievances with the club, and what if any compromise can be made.

LA Galaxy supporters want change

Since the statement was released on January 14th, according to Andrew Alesana the Los Angeles Galaxy will speak to the supporters’ clubs and address the issue. “They have scheduled a meeting, can’t confirm when, but (Galaxy) have reached out… (Supporter Relations) we have talked to them the last few days.”

Alesana assures that the issues surrounding the boycott of the club are all due to the performance on the field and nothing to do with supporter perks off of it. “There is lots of things under (Chris Klein) leadership that have been embarrassing for the club, getting in trouble for cheating… The communication of the club is not good, (Klein’s extension) was dropped 8:30 AM our time, nothing was said officially by the Galaxy, the piece the reporter dropped had no one from the Galaxy named in it, it just said “the Galaxy said'', and that is how the club operates, no communication even between themselves.”

Alesana stresses that the issues are squarely on the front office and not the players who they “support” but know that they were “left with no choice” in order to get the front office’s attention on to the issues the supporters feel have turned the Galaxy into an expensive bottom feeder of MLS.

To many Galaxy supporters Douglas Costa and Javier Hernández have been extremely costly considering the production output of Zlatan Ibrahimović who scored 53 goals in 56 matches for the club and would go on to AC Milan where he has 33 goals in 60 games and won the Serie A championship. The Galaxy failed to reach any agreement with the Swede who simply left the league, leaving the Galaxy without the club’s best player and arguably the most recognizable player the league had.

Another person who is in the middle of the storm is former USMNT striker Jovan Kirovski, who has been attributed a lot of the poor scouting decisions by the club over the last few seasons.

Alesana knows that this could set a major precedent, both good and bad in American sports, that the fans can evidently as a collective whole have someone as high up as the club President fired. “In the end we want Chris Klein and Jovan Kirovski out, I understand that this could set a precedent… (Galaxy) cannot accept (missing the playoffs) for two years now, fans have been putting ‘Klein out’ on social media post for a long time… We are giving those people a voice, this is not a single fan… all those people who are upset and that feel (Klein) should not have been awarded a contract extension, should sit out. We are not begrudging anyone who doesn’t, but this is all that we can do to try to effect change.”

For the LA Riot Squad, Galaxians, Angel City Brigade, Galaxy Outlawz, and Ghost Ultra Galaxy it could be the final shot of trying to get their beloved club on a winning track.