Spain will have to play their next international friendly with part of the stadium closed after fans sang a discriminatory chant about Muslims during the game against Egypt on 31 March.
A group of Spain home fans were heard chanting around the 10th minute of the first half, and again at the start of the second, per ESPN. An anti-discrimination message was shown on the screen at the RCDE Stadium in Barcelona and repeated early in the second half, which drew whistles from some parts of the crowd.
Fifa later opened disciplinary proceedings against the Spanish Football Association (RFEF) over what it called “Islamophobic and xenophobic” chants. The RFEF condemned the chants afterwards, and Spain coach Luis de la Fuente called them “intolerable”, adding that “violent people use football to carve out a space for themselves”.
In the written reasons Fifa has now published, the RFEF argued that the chants weren’t discriminatory conduct. The disciplinary committee rejected that argument. It noted that the RFEF could not “persuasively maintain both that the chant was entirely harmless and that it warranted activation of anti-discrimination measures”.
The punishment includes Spain playing their next friendly with 15% of the stadium closed off, mainly the stands behind the goals. Subject to Fifa’s approval, they can fill those seats with community or special-interest groups, such as families, students and anti-discrimination organisations. Spain will pay $20,000 (£15,000) as fine.
Spain’s next possible friendly date is in June. If they qualify for the Nations League finals, the punishment will be pushed back to one of the empty dates during Euro 2028 qualifying next autumn.
The match finished 0-0. Afterwards, the Egyptian Football Association condemned the chants as an unacceptable “repugnant act of racism” but said the actions of a small group of fans wouldn’t affect the close relations between the two federations.
