Mexico fans continue to put their national soccer team in a tough spot because of refusing to stop chanting ‘ehhh puto’ (a homophobic slur) aimed at the opposing team’s goalkeepers when they are in possession of the ball. The offensive chant has been a matter of discussion, warnings from soccer organizations and pleas in campaigns from Mexico’s team players to the fans, practically begging them stop.
Most thought that if all of the above were not reason enough to eradicate the insult, the Orlando shooting which took 49 lives, including four Mexicans, would somehow put it all into perspective… Except it didn’t. On Monday (only one day after the tragic incident, in a game vs. Venezuela, the chant was sadly heard loud and clear when the opposing team’s goalie, Dani Hernández held the ball. Nonetheless, the entire stadium had held a minute of silence to honor the victims before the game, but this did not seem to phase the Mexican fans.
After repeated occasions where this happened during the 2014 World Cup, the FIFA disciplinary committee opened an investigation to potentially penalize the team for their fans’ misconduct. The organization ended up fining the Mexican team last year, after a Concacaf qualifying match against El Salvador during which the chant was heard in multiple occasions.
The Mexican soccer team launched a campaign last March titled, “Abrazados por el Fútbol” (“Hugged by Football”), calling fans to visit their website and sign a petition pledging to respect diversity and reject physical and verbal violence.
Additionally, the team had to launch another set of videos accompanied by the hashtag #yapárale (#stopitalready) to urge their fans to stop the offensive chant once and for all, after the FIFA has threatened the team they could start playing games in empty stadiums, as fans would be banned from attending their matches.
Y hablando de #Incondicionales...
— Selección Nacional (@miseleccionmx) June 4, 2016
Te necesitamos, #YaPárale con el grito al portero rival.https://t.co/jR2g4fVZK4https://t.co/dAq42BFP5b
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