Vilmar “Vava” Marques, former men’s soccer coach at Foothill College, filed a wrongful termination suit in the Santa Clara County Superior Court against the college Feb. 10.

Marques’ dispute followed a 2003 soccer game in which Brazilian and Mexican members of the Foothill soccer team were allegedly subjected to racial slurs from the opposing team and fans.

Both players and Marques have argued that the college did not respond adequately to the harassment. Instead, it allegedly demonstrated an adversarial attitude toward the students and coach.

Last May the U.S. Department of Education found that the college’s response to the 2003 incident violated the players’ rights under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits institutional bias based on race.

According to his suit, Marques’ complaints regarding the 2003 incident sparked retaliation from Foothill College, including demotion and discrimination.

He filed a complaint in 2004 with the U.S. Department of Justice Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which evaluates public employees’ cases. Their review authorized Marques to file the suit.