CAS upholds FIFA fines on Mexico and overturns partial stadium closure

The Court of Arbitration for Sport has upheld FIFA fines imposed on the Mexican Football Federation over homophobic chanting by supporters while annulling a separate sanction that required a partial stadium closure.The ruling has immediate operational relevance for Mexico’s matchday planning in the World Cup cycle, while reinforcing FIFA’s position that federations remain responsible for recurring discriminatory behaviour even when prevention programmes are in place.CAS said the federation must pay two separate fines of 60,000 Swiss francs and 80,000 Swiss francs linked to four international friendlies in 2024, after Mexico appealed FIFA disciplinary decisions.FIFA’s monitoring system reported the chant during friendlies against Bolivia, Uruguay and Brazil, with two matches temporarily suspended, and a separate case related to a friendly against the United States.CAS said: “The panel recognises the unique nature of the FMF’s situation, who demonstrated that significant financial resources and efforts have been deployed to eradicate the offending conduct. However, they found that the prohibited conduct persists, and the preventative measures do not carry sufficient legal weight to exempt the FMF from liability.”The panel said the fines were “the correct sanction and proportionate to the disciplinary offence”, maintaining the financial penalties as the appropriate response under FIFA’s rules.CAS did, however, overturn a 15% stadium closure ordered in one of the cases, citing inconsistency in the way FIFA’s disciplinary body applied sanctions across proceedings with comparable facts.CAS said the FIFA Disciplinary Commission had applied “an unjustified double standard for proceedings with substantially identical facts”, which led the panel to annul that element of the decision.Mexico has faced repeated disciplinary action over the chant, which is typically directed at opposing goalkeepers during goal kicks, and the federation has continued to run campaigns aimed at changing supporter behaviour.The decision lands at a sensitive moment for the co-host, with reputational management and event delivery standards rising as Mexico prepares to stage matches during the World Cup and protect relationships with sponsors, broadcasters and host venues.The next steps are Mexico’s federation aligning future match operations with FIFA’s anti-discrimination protocols, while monitoring whether the disciplinary approach evolves as FIFA and confederations assess repeat-offence enforcement ahead of the tournament.