CONCACAF- Mexico soccer federation team up to curb homophobic slurs in stadiums

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CONCACAF and FIFA have come up with a three step protocol to tackle the problem
The game can also be suspended by the referee in case the crowds continue with the behaviour
CONCACAF released a statement expressing their disappointment after a Mexico-Trinidad match

Written By:Aman

Updated: July 14 2021 07:08:44 PM ET Mexico City, CDMX, Mexico

Homophobic slogans and chants seem to resurface amongst Mexican football fans in the 2021 Gold Cup matches after the July 10 clash between Trinidad and Tobago and Mexico was temporarily halted as fans engaged in such acts. However, Mexico’s soccer federation and CONCACAF, one of FIFA’s six governing bodies, have teamed up to mitigate such chants in stadiums.

The stoppage was one part of the three-step plan put in place by FIFA in 2019 to address the homophobic behaviour of the crowds, according to reports from Sporting News.

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The three-step plan includes a preliminary step of removing those who shout the slogan from the stadium, however, it is unlikely that a huge number of fans could be escorted out while the game is underway. The remaining steps include temporarily stopping the match followed by escorting the players into the locker rooms while suspending the game. The last straw of the anti-homophobic protocol is to suspend the match.

The audience of the Group-A match, which was played on July 10, forced the referee to enforce the first step after the unfriendly chants were heard from the crowds in the final few minutes of the match.

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The slur gained momentum in the early 2000s and was commonly heard echoing from the stands occupied by Mexican football fans, who shouted it out whenever the rival team’s goalkeeper was about to restart play with a goal kick. It was aimed at distracting and pressuring the other team, according to reports from the Sporting News.

The growing problem has also been fined by FIFA on multiple occasions, in condemnation. About 15 fines have been reportedly imposed by the international football authority, with the most recent one being in June 2020, when FIFA ordered two matches to be played without crowds.

“Concacaf is extremely disappointed at the discriminatory language chanted by some Mexico fans during their Gold Cup match against Trinidad and Tobago”, the sporting authority said in a statement after the match.