Mexico’s football federation has been fined after fans were heard chanting discriminatory language during one of their World Cup games last weekend.
FIFA have ordered the organisation to pay $10,000 after Mexican supporters shouted out the word ‘puto’ during their match against Germany, where they won 1-0.
‘Puto’ is a slur used to refer to a male sex worker, and has long been shouted by football fans at Mexican matches towards players on the opposing team.
Gay rights activists have long argued that the term is homophobic, and that it being chanted at games is a form of anti-gay discrimination.
FIFA warned Mexican fans at the World Cup in Russia that their team could face “additional sanctions” if there are “repeated infringements”.
Mexican striker Javier Hernandex appealed to fans to adhere to the warning, urging them to stop chanting the homophobic slur during their future matches.
“To all Mexican fans in the stadiums, don’t shout ‘Puto’,” he wrote on Instagram. “Let’s not risk another sanction.”
It’s not the first time the Mexican Football Federation has been fined on these grounds.
They were sanctioned 12 times for homophobic chants during the World Cup qualifying campaign, resulting in being fined for 10 of the incidents.
Homophobic attitudes within football have been at the forefront of this World Cup – mainly because of host nation Russia’s anti-gay laws.
Russia has some of the, if not the, worst LGBTQ rights in the developed world. During the country’s recent Presidential election, an advert ran which warned people that they would have to live with a gay person if they didn’t vote.
What’s more, a recent poll found that 83% of Russians consider gay sex to be “reprehensible.”
In 2013, Vladimir Putin signed into effect a gay propaganda rule, which banned the promotion of “non-traditional” sexual orientations to minors.
Under the law, a Calvin Klein advert was banned, there were calls to ban the game FIFA 17, and the Warwick Rowers naked calendar was banned.
Related: Looking for a new football this World Cup season? Get one that helps LGBTQ charities
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