Mexico may face FIFA punishment for a surprising chant during their World Cup win.
Mexico might face a penalty from FIFA because of a chant heard during their World Cup win against Ecuador in Mexico City.
Early Wednesday morning, Mexico became the second of the three World Cup hosts to secure a spot in the round of 16. Goals from Julián Quiñones and Raúl Jiménez helped Mexico win 2-0, giving them their first knockout-stage victory in 40 years at the famous Estadio Azteca.
Now, Mexican fans are excitedly waiting to see who they’ll play next, depending on the result of England’s upcoming match against DR Congo in Atlanta. The winner of that game will face Mexico on Monday, July 6, at 1am BST at the Azteca.
However, before that match, Mexico could face a possible punishment from FIFA because some fans were heard singing a chant with a hurtful slur during the game against Ecuador.
Mexico was doing great, on their way to their fourth win in a row without conceding a goal—something no team has done since Italy in 1990. It’s easy to see why fans were so excited, but some took it too far by singing a chant containing a homophobic slur, which is a word that’s very offensive in Spanish.
This chant, usually sung when the opposing goalkeeper takes a goal kick, has caused trouble for Mexico’s team before. It was heard during the last three World Cups in Brazil, Russia, and Qatar.
The Mexican football federation has tried to stop this chant by asking fans to stop and running education programs. Before this tournament, they even launched a campaign encouraging fans to do the wave but not sing the rude word. Some famous players from Mexico’s 1986 World Cup team spoke out against it, but unfortunately, fans have still been heard singing the chant this year.
Before the 2026 World Cup started, Mexico was already punished because of this chant, with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) getting involved after reports from anti-discrimination monitors at matches against Bolivia, Uruguay, Brazil, and the United States in 2024.
CAS agreed with FIFA and kept fines of 140,000 Swiss francs (about $178,000 or £130,457) but stopped a penalty that would close parts of a stadium during World Cup matches. The judges noted that the chanting was a widespread problem, not just a one-time thing.
Matt Slater from The Athletic suggested a way forward: FIFA fines alone aren’t solving the problem, but letting fans continue to say such hurtful words isn’t right either. He believes the best solution is for fans to police themselves and start changing this behavior now.