GUADALAJARA, Mexico (AP) — Guadalajara is the capital of the Mexican state that is home to tequila and mariachi music. It’s also believed to be the birthplace of a less flattering tradition: the homophobic soccer chants that have earned Mexico hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines over the past two decades.
It’s no surprise that during Tuesday’s friendly between Mexico and the United States, a one-word slur chant that literally means man-whore in Spanish could be heard from the crowd at Guadalajara’s Akron Stadium.
Despite on-screen messages and banners urging fans to refrain from using chants and instead shout “Mexico,” the crowd was attacked by U.S. goaltender Matt Turner within a minute of kickoff. shouted insults.
Multiple sanctions from FIFA and fan education campaigns by Mexican soccer officials have not eradicated the problem. The chant remains strong in both Mexican soccer clubs and the national team, especially during matches between the North American rivals, who will host the 2026 World Cup with Canada.
When the U.S. men’s team played Mexico in the CONCACAF Nations League finals in Texas in March, the referee twice stopped the game due to homophobic chants by Mexican fans. Last year’s game between the two teams in Las Vegas was shortened for the same reason.
On Tuesday, the referee did not stop the match, but at one point organizers tried to drown out the chants by playing the popular folk song “Cielito Lindo” over the stadium’s speakers. Mexico won the match 2-0.
Guadalajara is a city with a strong soccer tradition, with two teams in Mexico’s top soccer league and two in the second division, but many local fans told The Associated Press the chant was harmless and was meant only to make fun of the opponents. He said he thought that was the purpose. team.
“Football is still a party and the chants are just for fun. Those who shout them mean no harm to our rivals,” said Luis Gallardo, 38, who was wearing the Mexican national team’s black away shirt. . “It’s been going on for years and I don’t think it’s going to change.”
The slur, typically used when an opposing goalkeeper takes a goal kick, is not the only offensive chant heard in soccer stadiums around the world, but its persistent use in international competitions has prompted the Mexican Football Federation to It’s causing a lot of trouble.
The federation has been fined countless times by FIFA for “discriminatory conduct” by supporters, including 100,000 Swiss francs (about 110,000 Swiss francs) for two incidents during the 2022 Qatar World Cup. It also includes a $4,000 fine. Mexico appealed these penalties.
The Mexican Football Federation has long maintained that the chant was not directed at homosexuals and that the word has a different meaning in modern Mexican culture. However, the federation has recently launched a campaign to end this discrimination, with stadium announcers urging spectators to refrain from discriminatory chants and enlisting the help of soccer stars and other celebrities to get the message across. Ta.
In 2022, the federation threatened to impose a five-year ban on stadiums for fans who shouted slurs during matches. Jon de Luisa, the federation’s president at the time, said that regardless of the intention of the person using the slur, what matters is how it is perceived by others.
“If it’s discriminatory, we should avoid it,” De Luisa said. He later resigned following Mexico’s poor performance in Qatar, which resulted in the team’s exit in the group stage.
The chant’s origins are unclear, but it dates back to the 2004 Olympic qualifiers between Mexico and the United States in Guadalajara, the capital of Jalisco state. It then spread to stadiums across Mexico with fans of Guadalajara’s Atlas soccer club.
Atlas fan Francisco Acuña, 55, said the chants were a way for fans to express their emotions during games and should not be taken too seriously.
“Anyone who knows soccer knows that the games are intense and the players get excited on the field and hug each other at the end of the game,” he said.
Alejandro Oliva, a 40-year-old soccer fan who lives in downtown Guadalajara, said he doesn’t understand why some people find the chant offensive.
“I’m surprised that people outside of Mexico believe this is a homophobic chant. In Mexico it’s normal and no one is offended,” he said. “I think people in the gay community also use this word, but they don’t get outraged.”
Not everyone sees it that way.
Andoni Bello, an LGBTQ+ activist who played for Mexico in an amateur soccer tournament organized by the International Gay and Lesbian Football Association, is an outspoken critic of the chant. This is clearly homophobic.” .
He said Mexico must end the chants before the 2026 World Cup, when the world will be watching. Mexico is scheduled to host 13 World Cup matches, including four in Guadalajara.
Bello called on tournament organizers to reach out to the LGBTQ+ community to address the issue.
“It’s not just about taking pictures of them and saying we’re against homophobia in stadiums,” he says. “We have a real opportunity to educate Mexican fans. In the 1986 World Cup, the ‘Mexican Wave’ made us famous worldwide. We exported good celebrations. Let’s hope this chant gets eradicated because it’s so sad that it’s known for its homophobia. ”
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