At the World Cup, supporters are accustomed to going all out in their displays of emotion. However, there are situations when one’s excitability leads to undesirable actions. The international governing body for football, Fifa, can then take action and punish the teams involved for fan violence. Fifa fines Fans in World Cup 2022-23.
Several countries have already been sanctioned for the 2022 World Cup due to infractions that may have been avoided. Canadian goalkeeper Milan Borjan was booed by Croatian supporters because of his Serbian ancestry, prompting Fifa to launch a disciplinary investigation on Tuesday. During Sunday’s game, Canada lost 4-1. Fans held up a banner directed at Mr Borjan. It read the name of his family’s hometown over the logo of a tractor company.
Fifa fines Fans in World Cup 2022-23
Upon the dissolution of Yugoslavia in 1995, Mr Borjan’s family packed up and left their homeland of Knin, Croatia. At the time, there were rumours that ethnic Serbs were fleeing Croatia on tractors. In 2000, Mr Borjan’s family made the trip over the pond to settle in Ontario. Fans in Mexico and Ecuador have reportedly been singing homophobic slogans, prompting Fifa to launch disciplinary processes.
If punished, national teams may have to pay fines or play in front of a largely empty stadium. FIFA has declared a “zero-tolerance policy” on discriminating fan behaviour. Suppose spectators are harassing players based on their colour, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. In that case, the officials can take one of three actions: call a timeout, pause play, or call off the game altogether. Starting in 2019, clubs whose fans engage in discriminatory behaviour will be required to pay a minimum fine of 20,000 Swiss francs ($20,900; £17,500).
The club will also have to empty their stadium for at least one game. They have since handed multiple penalties during games. Because of homophobic shouts, Mexico was fined 100,000 Swiss francs and forced to play two World Cup qualification games in secret last year. Also in the same year, spectators were banned from two games, and the Hungarian football federation was fined 200,000 Swiss francs after they shouted racial abuse at black English players during a qualification match.
For selecting a country where homosexuality is banned, Fifa has also received criticism. Although Qatar has claimed everyone is welcome during the event, there have been situations in which players and fans have been asked to remove items of clothing (such as bands or hats) that show support for the LGBT community.
