Mexico fined $10K by FIFA over homophobic chants at World Cup
FIFA called the anti-gay chants "discriminatory and insulting".
FIFA has fined Mexico $10,000 for anti-gay chants made during the country’s match against Germany last Sunday (June 17).
The governing body of football launched an investigation after Mexican fans began chanting “puto”, a homophobic term for a male prostitute, during the country’s winning game.
In a statement this week, FIFA called the anti-gay chants “discriminatory and insulting” and warned the Mexican Football Federation (FMF) that there could be “additional sanctions” if there are any “repeated infringements”.
A spokesperson said: “The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has sanctioned the Mexican Football Federation with a fine of CHF 10,000 ($10,000) for the misconduct of a group of Mexican fans in relation to discriminatory and insulting chants during the first half of the 2018 FIFA World Cup match played between Germany and Mexico.”
After FIFA threatened further action if the homophobic chanting continued, Mexico striker Javier Hernandez urged fans to stop in an Instagram story.
He wrote: “To all Mexican fans in the stadiums, don’t shout ‘puto’. Let’s not risk another sanction.”
Hernandez’s teammate Marco Fabian also urged fans to stop using the chant and encouraged them to sing a well-known Mexican song instead.
The chants were heard during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil but FIFA took no action against them. FIFA has since launched a crack-down on the chanting and has so far issued the FMF two warnings and 10 more fines over similar chants made during the World Cup qualifying campaign.
Other South American teams that have been hit with similar fines include Argentina and Chile.