MADRID: Spain’s football federation will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport after FIFA rejected ​its appeal against sanctions imposed over Islamophobic chants by supporters during a match against ‌Egypt in March.

FIFA fined the RFEF $20,000 and ordered it to close at least 15pc of the available seats for Spain’s next home friendly.

The sanctions relate to incidents at the RCDE Stadium near Barcelona, home of Espanyol, where some Spain ​fans chanted: “If you don’t jump, you’re a Muslim,” during a World Cup warm-up match which ​ended in a 0-0 draw.

After the second occurrence of the chant, the stadium announcer ⁠issued a warning and the scoreboard displayed a message against discriminatory behaviour.

Spain winger Lamine Yamal, who is ​Muslim, condemned the chants at the time, describing them as disrespectful and intolerable and calling those responsible “ignorant and ​racist”.

Spanish police launched an investigation the following day while world governing body FIFA later started disciplinary proceedings against the RFEF.

The RFEF argued that the word ‘Muslim’ was “neither insulting nor pejorative”, adding the fans’ conduct should be assessed under FIFA’s Article 17, which covers ​political, ideological, religious or offensive messages, rather than Article 15, which deals with discrimination and racist abuse.

However, ​FIFA’s disciplinary committee rejected that argument, saying Article 15 does not require the explicit use of a slur and that ‌a term ⁠can be discriminatory when used in context as “an insult, taunt, or marker of inferiority”.

The RFEF appealed the sanction but a FIFA spokesperson told media that it had been dismissed last week, prompting the Spanish federation to take the case to CAS, the highest authority in sports disputes.

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