Mexican soccer fans could face punishments for directing anti-gay slurs at opponents during the World Cup, FIFA has ruled. Just days before the event opens in Mexico City, the Mexican soccer federation on Tuesday lost its latest appeal against FIFA punishments over the controversial chants.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport's latest ruling in a series of Mexico vs. FIFA appeal cases over more than 10 years comes ahead of the men's national team hosting South Africa on June 11 in the storied Azteca Stadium where the chant is often heard.
The chant, a one-word slur that literally means male prostitute in Spanish, usually occurs when the opposing goalkeeper is taking a goal kick. It went viral in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and was heard again at the next editions in 2018 in Russia and 2022 in Qatar. Mexico fans have defied requests and education programs by the federation aiming to control the abuse.
The latest case at CAS followed FIFA prosecutions of incidents at games in 2024 against Bolivia, Uruguay, Brazil and the United States. The chant was heard by anti-discrimination monitors who also will work for FIFA at the World Cup's 104 games in Mexico, the U.S. and Canada.
CAS said its judges upheld FIFA-imposed fines totaling 140,000 Swiss francs ($178,000). They lifted a sanction of closing part of a stadium at a FIFA-organized game such as the World Cup. The court said its judges at a hearing in Miami in March weighed the Mexican federation mitigation that it had 'put measures in place since 2015 to educate, prevent and eradicate the chant.'
'They (the judges) observed that the conduct of the fans was collective and widespread, and not merely a one-off occurrence,' CAS said in a statement. Noting the 'unique nature' of the challenge facing Mexican soccer officials, the court said the federation should not escape liability.
But some have argued that fans are better at policing this behavior than FIFA. 'On the one hand, FIFA fines aren't working,' The Athletic's Matt Slater wrote on X. 'But, on the other, we can't just let some Mexican fans keep screaming an anti-gay slur each time the oppo goalie boots it. Self-policing by fans is the best way to fix this…now would be a good time to start.'
Meanwhile, Mexican soccer officials have launched a campaign to deter the chant. Titled 'La Ola Sí, El Grito No,' the campaign uses members of Mexico's 1986 World Cup team to encourage fans to do the wave but not the chant. The creation of the Wave, the coordinated movement of fans in stadiums, is attributed to George 'Krazy' Henderson, an American fan who began orchestrating it at the Oakland Coliseum in 1981, but it became popular globally at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico and began to be called the 'Mexican Wave.'
'This campaign aims to raise awareness among fans about the importance of supporting the Mexican national team with the wave and not with discriminatory chants that FIFA sanctions,' the federation said in a statement.
Mexico will be the first country to host the World Cup three times, starting on June 11 when it faces South Africa in the opening match. The country was also the host nation in 1970 and 1986, but will share hosting duties this year with the United States and Canada.
