CAS upholds Fifa fines against Mexico for anti-gay chant ahead of World Cup

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has upheld Fifa fines totalling 140,000 Swiss francs ($178,000) against the Mexican football federation for an anti-gay chant by fans, dismissing the federation’s latest appeal just days before the 2026 World Cup opens in Mexico City.

The ruling, delivered following a March hearing in Miami, does partially favour Mexico: a stadium closure sanction that had accompanied the fines was lifted. The fines themselves, however, stand in full.

The chant at the centre of the dispute is a one-word Spanish slur meaning “male prostitute,” traditionally directed at opposing goalkeepers during goal kicks. It first drew widespread international attention at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and was recorded again at Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022, despite repeated educational campaigns by the federation. The Fifa prosecutions that triggered this CAS case stemmed from incidents detected by anti-discrimination monitors at 2024 international fixtures against Bolivia, Uruguay, Brazil, and the United States.

CAS judges acknowledged that the Mexican federation had made mitigation efforts since 2015 to “educate, prevent and eradicate the chant.” Nevertheless, the court found that “the conduct of the fans was collective and widespread, and not merely a one-off occurrence.” While recognising the “unique nature” of the challenge facing Mexican football officials, the panel concluded the federation could not escape liability.

The decision lands at a particularly sensitive moment. Mexico is a co-host of the 2026 World Cup alongside the United States and Canada, with anti-discrimination monitors set to operate across all 104 matches in the tournament. The men’s national team opens its group stage against South Africa on 11 June at the Azteca Stadium — the very venue where the chant is most frequently heard — before further home fixtures against South Korea in Guadalajara and the Czech Republic back at the Azteca.

This ruling is the latest chapter in a dispute between Mexico and Fifa that has stretched across more than a decade. On the pitch, Mexico have never progressed beyond the quarter-finals of a World Cup, reaching that stage as hosts in 1970 and 1986. Between 1994 and 2018 they exited at the round of 16 in seven consecutive tournaments, and in Qatar they failed to advance from the group stage, managing one win from three matches before being eliminated ahead of eventual champions Argentina.