After Mexico’s win 1-0 win over Germany during Sunday’s World Cup game, Mexican fans were so excited that they seemed to be shouting some unfavorable language toward the German team. It seems that each time German goalie blocked a kick from the Mexico team, fans would shout “¡Puto!” the Spanish pejorative for ‘F***t!’ Sports fans can be ruthless when it comes to throwing insults but FIFA hopes to make an example of the inappropriate conduct.
Mexican midfielder Marco Fabian encourages fans to chant lyrics to the traditional song Cielito Lindo (Ay, ay, ay, ay, Canta y no llores) meaning ‘sing and don’t cry’.
Now, FIFA has opened an investigation for the distasteful acts of the Mexican fans abroad. According to ESPN, this isn’t the first time the Mexican federation (FMF) has been investigated and fined for anti-gay and discriminatory language being hurled at fans.
Here’s an example from fans outside of the game on Sunday:
In a country and culture like Mexico, the terms ‘puto’, ‘maricón’, ‘puñal’, and ‘joto’ are terms that are constantly used casually but that pack heavy significance to those in the LGBTQ community who deal with this type of language. As a consequence, the Mexican federation is warning to confiscate fan IDs in Russia if they are caught chanting the word. This would prevent them from using their tickets to the games.
Because of the 12 previous times that the FMF has been accused of fan anti-gay conduct they’ll have ot put their money where their mouths are. Currently, the FMF is expecting a fine of 500,000 pesos ($24,000) for the chant’s use in Sunday’s game against Germany.
Mexico will play against South Korea in its second Group A game on Saturday. Let’s hope the fans keep the bad language out of it!
h/t: ESPN
