Don’t sanction Mexico fans over a childish chant

Published June 20, 2018 5:58pm ET



Some observers are upset that Mexican soccer fans have kept up their trademark “puto” (“whore”) chant at opposition goalkeepers at the soccer World Cup in Russia. While that chant might be viewed as offensive to homosexuals, it is not explicitly so. Considering that balance of offensiveness and the fact that Mexican fans have traveled a long way and incurred significant costs, FIFA shouldn’t penalize Mexican players. What’s more, it has no moral authority to do so.

Some Western Anglosphere commentators seem to believe the Mexican team should either play its next game in an empty stadium or see its participation in the tournament brought into question. At Slate, Nick Greene explores the chant’s meaning but laments that “FIFA could use its substantial power to deter Mexican fans from chanting puto. It just won’t, at least not on the sport’s biggest stage.”

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