Mexican football fans risk fresh sanctions from FIFA after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld penalties linked to the repeated use of an anti-gay chant, CAS has ruled.
The derogatory term “puto” — often shouted by supporters when an opposing goalkeeper takes a goal kick — has marred the last three World Cups in 2014, 2018 and 2022, despite sustained campaigns by the Mexican Football Federation to stamp it out.
Ahead of Mexico’s opening Group Stage match against South Africa on 11 June at the iconic Azteca Stadium, CAS confirmed FIFA fines totalling 140,000 Swiss francs (approximately $178,000) against the federation. However, the court lifted a previous sanction that would have partially closed a stadium during World Cup fixtures.
Judges noted that, while the federation has introduced corrective measures since 2015, the behaviour remains “collective and widespread”, rather than limited to isolated incidents.
In response, the federation launched the campaign “La Ola Sí, El Grito No” (The Wave Yes, The Chant No), enlisting members of Mexico’s 1986 World Cup squad to encourage fans to embrace the stadium wave instead of discriminatory slurs.
As co-hosts of the 2026 World Cup alongside the United States and Canada, Mexico becomes the first nation to stage the tournament three times, having previously hosted in 1970 and 1986. Their group-stage schedule also includes matches against South Korea in Guadalajara and the Czech Republic at the Azteca.
FIFA has confirmed that anti-discrimination monitors will be present at all 104 matches across the three host nations in a bid to eliminate offensive chanting from the stands.
