FIFA sanctions Spanish Football Federation over racist chants at Egypt friendly

The Spanish Football Federation has been fined €20,000 by FIFA and ordered to close 15% of the stadium for its next friendly match after racist chanting during Spain’s meeting with Egypt.

The sanction, reported by Mundo Deportivo, relates to the international friendly played at the Cornella-El Prat in March, which ended 0-0. The Spanish federation disagrees with the punishment and plans to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Some supporters were heard chanting “a Muslim does not jump” during the game. They also booed the Egyptian national anthem.

Stadium officials used the public-address system to call on fans to stop racist or discriminatory chanting. A message was displayed on the stadium screens warning that such behaviour was punishable under the anti-racism protocol.

Those warnings were met with whistles from some members of the Spanish crowd.

The Spanish Football Federation, Spain’s prime minister, the Egyptian Football Association and Espanyol all condemned the incidents.

The Egyptian Football Association said it “strongly condemns the abhorrent racist incident” at Espanyol’s stadium in Barcelona during the friendly against Spain.

It added: “Some spectators in the stands went beyond acceptable behaviour by chanting racist phrases and slogans. We firmly reject and condemn these incidents during the match, as well as the failure to respect the national anthem. This is completely unacceptable in football stadiums and is a negative phenomenon that we must work together to eliminate.”

The Egyptian federation praised statements from the Spanish Football Federation, Spain’s Ministry of Sport, officials and footballers in Spain who rejected and condemned the racist behaviour.

It said Egypt’s team had competed “with strength and efficiency” and matched the hosts on the pitch as they prepared for the World Cup finals.

The statement also said Egyptian Football Association president Hany Abou Rida was working with FIFA officials, international partners and organisations to prevent similar scenes in football stadiums worldwide.

“FIFA is fighting racism and combating discrimination in football,” the federation said, adding that it opposed any repeat of the incidents and would work to eradicate the problem completely.

The Egyptian Football Association stressed that the actions of a small number of supporters would not affect the strong relationship between the Egyptian and Spanish federations. It thanked Spain for the warm welcome given to the Egyptian delegation in Barcelona and the support and facilities provided during their visit.

Espanyol said it “strongly condemns” the racist behaviour during the match, which was organised by the Spanish Football Federation at its stadium on Tuesday evening.

The club said such actions did not represent sporting values and must be firmly rejected and eliminated from all sporting venues.

Espanyol also criticised what it called a wide-ranging campaign against its supporters, saying the match attracted Spain fans from different geographical and football backgrounds. It said it was unfair to hold Espanyol supporters responsible, highlighting the club’s more than 125-year history of diversity, respect and commitment to sporting values.

The club added that the RCDE Stadium had welcomed international teams from every continent for almost 17 years in an atmosphere of respect and coexistence, and reaffirmed its commitment to making the ground safe, inclusive and respectful for everyone.