CAS rules on chant appeals by the Mexican Football Federation
Lausanne, 2 June 2026 – The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has ruled on two appeals by the Mexican Football Federation (FMF, in Spanish) against FIFA concerning sanctions for the use of a homophobic chant by Mexican fans. The CAS Panel ruled that FMF must still pay separate fines of CHF 60’000 and CHF 80’000. However, one of the appeals was partially upheld and a 15% partial stadium closure for the next A-level FIFA match has been annulled.
During three friendly games that took place in the summer of 2024 (Mexico v. Bolivia, Mexico v Uruguay and Mexico v Brasil), FIFA’s anti-discrimination monitoring system reported the use of a homophobic chant by Mexican fans. Two of these matches were temporarily suspended. In September 2024, the FIFA Disciplinary Commission declared FMF responsible for the fan behaviour and imposed a 60’000 CHF fine on the federation and a 15% partial closure of the stadium for their next FIFA match. This decision was further upheld by the FIFA Appeal Committee.
Similar incidents were reported on another friendly match in October 2024 (Mexico v. USA), which generated a separate disciplinary procedure. In November 2024, the FIFA Disciplinary Commission declared FMF responsible for the fan behaviour and imposed an 80’000 CHF fine on the federation. This decision was further upheld by the FIFA Appeal Committee.
The FMF filed two separate appeals to CAS against FIFA in March and June 2025, contesting the decisions by the FIFA Appeal Committee. FMF argued that the federation has put measures in place since 2015 to educate, prevent and eradicate the chant. They also argued that the sanctions imposed by FIFA are not effective in influencing fan behaviour and deterring a reoccurrence of the offending conduct. Stating that the incidents were “short and isolated”, the FMF requested to set aside the decision or in the alternative, to replace it with a joint action plan with FIFA instead of “automatic and disproportionate” sanctions.
A CAS Panel was nominated for both procedures and an in-person hearing took place in Miami on 3 March 2026. The Panel considered the arguments and evidence of both Parties and examined footage from the matches. They observed that the conduct of the fans was collective and widespread, and not merely a one-off occurrence.
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.
Consequently, in such circumstances, the Panel concluded that the fines imposed were the correct sanction and proportionate to the disciplinary offence. The appeal for the offence during the October 2024 Mexico v. USA friendly was dismissed. The appeal for the offences in the summer of 2024 was partially upheld, and the 15% partial closure of the stadium has been set aside. The CAS Panel considered that the FIFA Disciplinary Commission applied an unjustified double standard for proceedings with substantially identical facts.
This is an unofficial summary for media use. Unless Parties request confidentiality, the full CAS awards with grounds will be made available on the CAS website. For legal purposes, only the wording used in the written decisions is binding.
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The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) is an independent organisation that resolves sports disputes worldwide. Established in 1984, CAS has tailored procedural rules to render impartial decisions through arbitration and mediation. Sporting bodies and athletes assign CAS the judicial authority to uphold an equal and just application of sporting regulations.
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