The National Women’s Soccer League and NJ/NY Gotham FC are investigating “hateful language” directed from a fan toward Orlando Pride forward Barbra Banda in her team’s 2-0 victory over Gotham on Sunday.

“This behavior is unacceptable and has no place in our league or in our stadiums,” Gotham FC, the Orlando Pride and the NWSL said in a coordinated joint statement.

Neither the clubs nor the league specified the nature of the language used.

Gotham said in a statement that “stadium security swiftly responded” to a reported incident during Sunday’s game at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey, the team’s home venue. An individual was “directly addressed” and security “[monitored] the situation for the remainder of the match.”

The NWSL and Gotham said they are working together to take additional action where appropriate under the league’s Fan Code of Conduct.

Gotham has footage of the alleged incident that it is actively reviewing, and club representatives have been in contact with the fan who reported the incident, a club spokesperson confirmed to ESPN.

“We are committed to ensuring that our venues are safe and respectful environments for all — especially for the athletes who represent the very best of our sport,” the NWSL said in its statement.

“Barbra Banda is both an exceptional player and person, and the NWSL is immensely proud to support her as a member of our league.”

Banda has previously faced online abuse.

She was the subject of anti-trans attacks in November in the days after she scored the winning goal in the 2024 NWSL Championship and was named BBC World Footballer of the Year. The online attacks gained traction through public figures with large online followings, including author J.K. Rowling.

The NWSL Players Association responded sharply at the time, with executive director Meghann Burke personally responding to Rowling directly and the “lowest form of discourse” from others on social media.

The online attacks largely stem from a 2022 incident in which Banda was ruled out of that year’s Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (which doubled as World Cup qualifying) in a confusing incident that left officials blaming each other. Zambia qualified for the 2023 World Cup, and Banda played at the tournament.

Banda also played at the past two Olympics — and scored a hat trick in each edition of the tournament. Her hat trick against Australia in July made her the first woman to score three hat tricks in an Olympics career.

Banda joined Orlando last year and scored 13 goals in her debut NWSL season.