A New York Red Bulls supporters group is planning to protest the dismissal of former head coach Mike Petke during the franchise's home opener on Sunday.
The New York Post reports the Empire Supporters Club, MLS' oldest fan group, will refuse to enter Red Bull Arena until after the start of team's game against rivals DC United, when they will then march to their normal seats in the 12th minute.
According to the outlet, there will be no organized singing from the group for the duration of the protest, and they will unfurl banners conveying their displeasure with the unpopular decision.
New Red Bulls coach Jesse Marsch, however, appears unaffected by the planned display.
"It sounds like the crowd is going to be big. There'll be energy and I think there'll be emotion from everything that happened in the offseason to everything of what this game means and now trying to learn what this team is about,'' he told the Post. "I think it'll be pretty awesome, frankly, and I'm excited about it.''
"My person-to-person interaction with people, for the most part, has been very positive," Marsch continued. "I think there's emotion that happened there in the past, and that's great. And I think they'll be emotion here for what happens here in the future.
"I do think there will be some emotion in the stadium ... and that'll be good. That'll be good for our guys, and I think our guys by every performance they give this year are going to show everybody what kind of team we are and who we're becoming. I hope our fans come with the passion they normally do and that's what makes this club unique and what makes our stadium great to play in."
The Red Bulls and DC United match kicks off at 5 p.m. ET and can be seen on ESPN2.