Spain could face sanction for Islamophobic chants during Egypt friendly

Spain played out a 0-0 draw with Egypt at the RCDE Stadium on Tuesday night, but the game was largely a secondary affair following the despicable behaviour of large swathes of the fans. La Roja could face a FIFA sanction for Islamophobic chants that rang out on three occasions during the game.

‘Who doesn’t jump is a muslim’ was heard chanted on three occasions during the match, which left muslim star Lamine Yamal looking miserable as he left the pitch after the game. He decided to skip the lap of honour at the end of the match. Spain manager Luis de la Fuente strongly criticised the chants, but President of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) Rafael Louzan played down its importance, referring to it as ‘an isolated incident’.

Spain could face sanction for chants

The incident could cost Spain either a partial stadium closure or a financial penalty, as per MD. FIFA regulations state that the RFEF could be fined €21k by the governing body, or face a partial stadium closure for their next game. It is not yet clear whether that would come into force during their friendly with Iraq in A Coruna, or if it could impact their World Cup games this summer in the United States. The sanction will hinge on whether the referee records the incidents in his match report.

Why was the game not stopped?

Many were left asking why the anti-discrimination protocol was no applied during the game. Regulations dictate that the game should be stopped and fans warned about the incidents in the event of racist, xenophobic or discriminatory behaviour. A second incident results in players leaving the pitch, and a third in the forfeit of the game.

Yet Diario AS explain that only the referee, in this case Georgi Kabakov, is able to stop the game and enforce the protocol. It is not clear if he was aware of the incidents either. The RFEF did put up a notice on the big screens reminding fans not to restrain from discriminatory behaviour. The local police force, Mossos d’Esquadra, have now opened an investigation into hate crimes committed.

Spain’s major concern over chants

The real concern is not necessarily the sanction they could face, but MD say the RFEF fear an impact on the 2030 World Cup. As FIFA deliberate over how many venues to award to each host country, including 99% muslim Morocco, there is concern that this intolerance could harm Spain’s case to host both the final and include all of the venues they want.

The post Spain could face sanction for Islamophobic chants during Egypt friendly appeared first on Football España.