(Las Vegas) The Mexican football team could be subject to sanctions after their supporters sang a homophobic chant during the semi-final of the Concacaf Nations League against the United States in Las Vegas on Thursday.
Fans shouted “puto” – a homophobic slur – when USA goalkeeper Matt Turner cleared the ball and the game was briefly stopped while warnings were given to supporters.
After a stormy match won 3-0 by the United States, two players from each of the two teams were sent off. Objects and drinks were also thrown onto the pitch by the crowd, which overwhelmingly supported Mexico. Laser pointers were also aimed at Turner and other American players.
The slur “puto” means “male prostitute”, but in Mexico it roughly translates to “queer” and is widely used to insult a person’s masculinity.
The chant has long been a problem for the Mexican Football Federation, which has been repeatedly fined and has urged fans to end the practice. Concacaf released a statement after the game, saying it “strongly condemned” what it called “discriminatory chanting”.
“The chants heard during the game led to the activation of the anti-discrimination protocol by the match officials. In addition, security personnel expelled several fans for unacceptable behavior in the stadium,” said the confederation that governs football in North America, Central America and the Caribbean.
“These incidents were extremely disappointing and tarnished what should have been a positive opportunity to showcase high quality football in our region,” the statement added.
The multiple fines imposed on Mexico amount to more than $650,000 and the country was forced to play at home without their fans against Jamaica in September 2021.
The Mexican Federation has implemented an online ticket registration system and QR codes for spectators at its home games to identify and ban any violators and deter the use of chanting.
Mexico will co-host the 2026 World Cup with the United States and Canada. Last year, Yon de Luisa, then president of the federation, warned that organizing rights risked being lost because of this homophobic chanting.