April 8 – FIFA has opened disciplinary proceedings against the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) in the wake of “Islamophobic and xenophobic” chanting during Spain’s friendly against Egypt in March’s international break.
The fixture, played at the RCDE Stadium in Barcelona, was interrupted by repeated stadium announcements urging supporters to refrain from anti-Muslim discriminatory behaviour.
A warning message was also displayed on the big screen, but was met with whistles from sections of the crowd.
Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente did not hold back in his assessment afterwards, describing the chants as “intolerable” and adding that “violent people use football to carve out a space for themselves”.
In a short statement, FIFA said it has “opened disciplinary proceedings today against the Spanish FA for the incidents in the friendly against Egypt.”
The FIFA annoucnement follows a police investigation launched in Spain last week, as well as a formal response from the Egyptian Football Association, which labelled the chanting an unacceptable and “repugnant act of racism”.
The Egyptian FA did stress, however, that the actions of a minority would not damage relations between the two federations as they head towards joint hosting of the 2030 World Cup.
Spain star Lamine Yamal – a practising Muslim – took to social media to address the incident directly to his 40 million followers the day after the match.
“I am a Muslim, thank God,” he wrote. “Yesterday in the stadium, we heard the chant ‘whoever does not jump is a Muslim’. I know it was directed to the opposing team and nothing towards myself as a person, but as a Muslim myself this does not stop being a lack of respect and something we can’t tolerate.
“I understand not all the fanbase is like that, but to those who sing those chants: using religion as something to mock people in a football stadium leaves you as ignorant and racist people. Football is to enjoy and support, not to offend people by who they are or what they believe in.
“Having said that, thanks to the fans that came to support. See you in the World Cup.”
The match had a knock-on effect in shaking up the football hierarchy. Following the goalless result against 29th-ranked Egypt, Spain subsequently slipped from the top of the FIFA rankings following the international window as France returned to top spot after an eight-year absence.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at [email protected]