Here’s a reason not to root for Mexico in the World Cup soccer tournament: fans of El Tri chanting anti-gay slurs at players on the field.
FIFA, the troubled organization that oversees world soccer, opened an investigation into reports that Mexico fans chanted the insult last week as German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer got ready for a goal kick.
Yet this isn’t anything new, nor limited to Mexico fans. In fact, Los Angeles Galaxy fans chanted the slur during a May match at StubHub Center in Carson against FC Dallas on — wait for it — the club’s “Pride Night” celebration for fans. But it has been a persistent problem FIFA has failed to properly counter. As the Guardian reports:
“FIFA issued 51 disciplinary actions over homophobia during 2018 World Cup qualifiers. Of these, 11 were handed to the Mexican federation, with Argentina, Brazil, Chile, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama and Peru also receiving multiple fines. FIFA additionally cited Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay, Greece, Hungary and Serbia once each for homophobic chants.”
Racist taunting is also a problem. In March, Russia fans directed monkey noises at black French players during an exhibition game between the two national teams in St. Petersburg. That cost the Russian federation a $31,000 fine.
But fines have not deterred such behavior, and that points up one of the fundamental problems with soccer’s attempts to control racism, homophobic slurs and other unsavory aspects of fan behavior.
FIFA doesn’t have the will to take meaningful steps to address the problems.
It’s true that its options are limited — an international federation doesn’t have much direct control over fans in disparate countries.
But it does have some tools beyond the slap-on-the-wrist fines.
It can (and occasionally does) halt play when the crowd starts hurling bigoted epithets and taunts, which is what it should have done Sunday as the goalie put the ball in play.
Instead, FIFA announced an investigation, which means in a few weeks the Mexican federation may get a fine while the offending fans get a giggle.
FIFA claims it’s serious about confronting racism and homophobia among fans, but its lack of action speaks loudly.
FIFA managed to throttle back hooliganism — rowdy fans traveling to matches to fight with fans of the opposing team — through direct responses, including pressuring national federations and teams to ban admission by known hooligans to stadiums and, at the national level, barring travel to foreign countries where matches and tournaments are being held.
Similar steps could go a long way toward combating the insults. So could FIFA halting — or even postponing — more matches because of fan behavior. That would be a big step, yes, but it’s clear that forceful action is necessary if FIFA is to knock some of the racist and homophobic tarnish off its sport.