FIFA rejects Spain's appeal and imposes sanctions over "anti-Muslim" chants

The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) imposed disciplinary sanctions on the Spanish Football Federation due to chants deemed anti-Muslim chanted by fans during a friendly match against Egypt, while the Spanish Federation decided to appeal the decision before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

Financial penalties and partial closure of stands

FIFA announced the imposition of a fine of $20,000 on the Spanish Federation, in addition to obligating it to close at least 15 percent of the available seats during the upcoming friendly match for the Spanish national team.

The sanctions came against the backdrop of events that took place at the RCDE Stadium near Barcelona during a friendly match between Spain and Egypt last March, which ended in a goalless draw.

The chants sparked controversy

According to the decision, some fans of the Spanish national team chanted “Whoever does not jump is a Muslim” twice during the match, which FIFA considered discriminatory behavior.

After the chants were repeated for a second time, the stadium’s internal announcer issued a warning to the fans, and a message condemning discriminatory behavior was displayed on the stadium screen.

Spanish national team player Lamine Jamal, a Muslim, condemned those chants at the time, describing those responsible as “ignorant and racist.”

Lamine Yamal described the chants as "disrespectful and intolerable", while coach Luis de la Fuente considered them "unacceptable", while the Egyptian Football Association strongly condemned the incident and considered it an "abhorrent racist incident".

He rejected the Spanish Federation's plea

The Spanish Federation defended itself by emphasizing that the word “Muslim” in itself does not represent an insult or disparagement of any person, considering that the incident should have fallen within Article 17 of the FIFA regulations relating to political, ideological or religious messages, and not Article 15 regarding discrimination and racist abuse.

But the FIFA Disciplinary Committee rejected this proposal, stressing that any term could become discriminatory if it is used in the context of insult, ridicule, or an indication of inferiority, even if it is not insulting in origin.

Resorting to "Cas"

The Spanish Federation appealed the sanctions to FIFA, but the appeal was rejected last week, which prompted it to submit the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the highest body competent to adjudicate sports disputes.

A Spanish Federation official said that the Federation dealt with the incident as soon as it was detected, informed the match referees about it, strengthened security measures inside the stands, and also cooperated with the competent authorities to identify those involved.

He added that the Federation considers the penalties imposed to be exaggerated, noting that similar penalties were not automatically applied in other cases that he described as more serious or that witnessed disciplinary precedents.

Spain's appeal rejected

The Spanish Football Federation announced that the Appeals Committee of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) rejected the appeal it submitted against the sanctions imposed against the backdrop of anti-Muslim chants chanted by some fans during the friendly match against Egypt on March 31.