Spain’s football federation will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport after FIFA rejected its challenge against sanctions over Islamophobic chants by supporters during a match against Egypt in March.
FIFA fined the Spanish Football Federation $20,000 and ordered it to close at least 15 percent of available seats for Spain’s next home friendly.
The sanctions follow chants of “If you don’t jump, you’re a Muslim” by some Spain supporters at the RCDE Stadium near Barcelona during a World Cup warm-up match that ended in a 0-0 draw.
The RFEF argued that the word “Muslim” was neither insulting nor derogatory and said the incident should be assessed under FIFA’s Article 17, which covers political, ideological, religious and offensive messages.
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