Mexico sanctioned by FIFA over anti-gay chant
Mexico’s men’s national team will play its next two home games behind closed doors due to a recurrence of an anti-gay chant during the CONCACAF pre-Olympic qualifying tournament, FIFA announced Friday.
A fine of roughly $65,000 was also attached to the ruling, and further sanctions were threatened, including a points reduction.
“The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has sanctioned the Mexican Federation with a fine of 60,000 Swiss francs and the condition that they play their next two official home games behind closed doors as a consequence of the anti-gay chants heard in the matches against the Dominican Republic and the United States, played in Guadalajara on March 18 and 24, respectively,” the FIFA statement said.
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Mexico’s next two official home games are World Cup qualifiers against Jamaica on Sept. 2 and Canada on Oct. 7.
According to FIFA’s statutes on discrimination, more severe punishments may be given for future breaches in order to stamp out the behavior. Those include a reduction in points in official tournaments, including World Cup qualifiers, or Mexico being banned entirely from any tournament under FIFA’s purview, including the World Cup itself.