When Football Chants Become Sanctions: Bad Football Under the Spotlight

Spain Vs. Egypt Friendly

The most recent international football friendly between Spain vs. Egypt national teams has triggered a chronic issue within the football ecosystem, mainly, the discriminatory conduct by football  fans and how the football regulators is likely to react!

During the match, Spanish fans repeatedly got involved in Islamophobic chants, including mass slogans targeting religious identities, which ignited public frustration, questioning the effectiveness of the football crowd-control protocols and anti-racism movements led by FIFA top-down. On top of the immediate reaction, football regulators are placed under direct spotlight to take serious actions, will they? 

“THE BIG QUESTION? Is FIFA’s disciplinary framework effective or selectively enforced?”

The Legal Backbone: FIFA Disciplinary Code under Article (13) clearly prohibits discrimination on the basis of religion, race, ethnicity, nationality, or similar grounds, including “organized chants, symbolic verbal or written abuse, grouped supporters misbehaviors and other acts that could promote specific political or religious or ethnic ideas or relevance”, even though, some could be promoting noble or humanitarian causes (take the famous incident of Mohammed Abou-Trika undershirt).  Such behaviors, critically extend beyond individual misbehaving or football chaos, placing responsibility directly on member associations, leagues and clubs organizing official matches.

Who takes the blame locally: according to FIFA’s framework, the Royal Spanish Football Federation as the “Match-Host” could be automatically held liable for this incident, regardless of it’s intent or direct involvement, just for the failure to apply adequate crowd-control policies or even for acting as “less-concerned” in response to the discriminatory conduct by the fans. Animal imitating sounds and throwing bananas against players due to their ethnic background, color or even shape ( think of Vinicus Junior, Samuel Eto, Sido Keita) all are ugly examples of how fans can turn football into an ugly canvas.

The regulatory wording is clear, failure to control the stadium environment is itself a breach, without investigating the cause, frequency of incidents or even names on the jerseys. Nonetheless, those factors could be considered as aggravating factors for imposing heavier sanctions. 

Disciplinary Actions On-site: FIFA has a robust mechanism of disciplinary actions for such incidents. Actions can be applied “during the game” partially or collectively, depending on the magnitude of the incident, frequency and other factors. Starting with temporary suspension of match with a public warning to fans, escalating to withdrawal of players from field and finally match termination with possibility of applying further sanctions on the hosting team (match forfeiture).

Reports indicate that during Spain Vs. Egypt match, warnings were issued during the match,  meaning the incident has already crossed the first regulatory threshold, creating an official record for disciplinary action if the discriminatory chants continued. Could this trigger further disciplinary actions against Spanish FA, possibly?

"Football Fields Are for Football Only"

Previous similar precedents: FIFA has applied its regulatory framework in comparable situations, citing few cases below.

•  Hungary (2021) - World Cup Qualifiers:  Following racist chanting directed at England players, FIFA imposed: Matches behind closed doors / Significant financial sanctions

•  El Salvador (2025 - World Cup Qualifiers): Another recent racist conduct of Salvadorian fans against Suriname players, FIFA imposed: Financial sanctions / Partial stadium closure / Mandatory compliance measures

•  Mexican fans (Repeated Offender - Homophobic Chants): FIFA sanctioned Mexico multiply due to persistent discriminatory chanting by supporters, applying: Stadium closures / Repeated financial penalties

Despite severe sanctions, the fans conduct got repeated revealing a key challenge: disciplinary measures do not always lead into fans behavioral change.

Aggravating Factors in the Spain Vs. Egypt Incident: Compared to former cases, several aggravating factors can be considered for potentially heavier disciplinary sanctions, including:

Direct targeting of religious or ethnic identity

Incidents during an international fixture (even a friendly)

Immediate government, media and fans frustration 

Potential impact on players, including “Muslim” athletes (Spanish, Egyptian and others)

Such factors were also present in prior cases where FIFA imposed additional sanctions.

Consistency and Fairness Remains an unanswered question: while regulations are strict, impartial and robust, enforcement across cases reveals inconsistencies in applying different set of penalties on some-how similar incidents.

What's Next?

If FIFA applies its framework consistently, the Spanish FA could face:

     •  Financial sanctions

     •  Partial or full stadium closures

     •  Conditional or suspended sanctions linked to future conduct

     •  Mandatory anti-discrimination measures

While Regulation Exists Consistency Is on Trial?

The Spain Vs. Egypt incident magnified the imminent need to apply the penalties consistently based on a pre-defined order of aggravation, at least for commonly repeated incidents involving racism, ethnic targeting, abusive conduct, violent conduct by fans..  

Because in modern football, inconsistency is not just a regulatory weakness. It is a reputational risk, life-threating scenarios and bypassing it with minor santions on the pretext of “fans excitement” will possibly lead to further escalations outside the football field turning football games into “mini wars” behind the fence.  

Until enforcement becomes predictable, sanctions will remain reactive, not preventative