FIFA upholds punishment for anti-Muslim chants at Spain match

FIFA’s Appeal Committee has rejected an appeal from the Spanish Football Federation regarding a $20,000 fine and a partial stadium closure. The disciplinary action follows anti-Muslim chants during a friendly match against Egypt at Barcelona’s RCDE Stadium on March 31. According to Daily Post Nigeria, the chants involved supporters repeatedly saying, “Who doesn’t jump is a Muslim,” during a goalless draw.

The RFEF argued that the word “Muslim” was not necessarily insulting and that the incident should be categorized under regulations for political, ideological, or religious messages rather than discrimination. However, Daily Post Nigeria reports that FIFA's disciplinary committee rejected this argument, stating that discriminatory language does not always require an explicit slur.

The punishment includes a requirement to close at least 15 per cent of the stadium for Spain's next friendly match, according to Daily Post Nigeria. Following the incident, Spain’s head coach Luis de la Fuente described the chants as “intolerable,” while winger Lamine Yamal criticized the behavior as disrespectful and racist, according to Daily Post Nigeria. Ajel English also noted that the fine was issued after fans committed racist acts during the match.

Brief written by urgent.news from Punch, Punch Nigeria, Ajel English, Daily Post Nigeria, Winnipeg Free Press — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.