"FIFA" upholds the penalty imposed for anti-Muslim chants in the Spain-Egypt match

FIFA's Appeals Committee rejected the Spanish Football Federation's appeal against a penalty imposed on the national team for anti-Muslim chants during a friendly match against Egypt last March. The penalty includes a $20,000 fine and closing 15% of stadium capacity for the next home friendly.

FIFA's Appeals Committee rejected the Spanish Football Federation's appeal against the penalty imposed on the Spanish national team for anti-Muslim chants during a friendly match against Egypt. The match took place on March 31 at the Cornellà stadium, home of Espanyol Barcelona, where some fans chanted "Whoever doesn't jump is a Muslim." On August 4, FIFA's Disciplinary Committee imposed a $20,000 (€17,800) fine and closure of at least 15% of stadium capacity for the team's next home friendly. The Spanish Federation reiterated that the offensive behavior "was detected through the federation's monitoring systems," noting it sent messages to fans asking them to stop the chants and displayed alerts on the stadium's giant screens. It also emphasized its full cooperation in identifying those responsible and stated it would appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). International striker Lamine Yamal (19) described the chants as "disrespectful and unacceptable," while Spain coach Luis de la Fuente called them "unacceptable."