Spain to play next friendly with partial stadium closure after discriminatory chants v Egypt

Fifa has ordered Spain to play their next international friendly with a partial stadium closure after supporters sang a discriminatory chant about Muslims during a 0-0 friendly with Egypt at the RCDE Stadium in Barcelona on 31 March.

The chants were heard around the 10th minute of the first half and again at the start of the second half, prompting an anti-discrimination message to be displayed on the stadium screen and repeated early in the second half, which drew whistles from some sections of the crowd. Spain and Egypt finished the match goalless, and the Egyptian Football Association condemned the chants as an unacceptable "repugnant act of racism" while saying the actions of a small group would not affect relations between the federations.

The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) publicly condemned the anti-Muslim chants after the game, and Spain coach Luis de la Fuente described them as "intolerable", adding that "violent people use football to carve out a space for themselves". Fifa subsequently opened disciplinary proceedings against the RFEF for what it called "Islamophobic and xenophobic" chants.

In written reasons published by Fifa, the RFEF had argued that the chants did not constitute discriminatory conduct; that defence was rejected by the disciplinary committee. The committee noted that the RFEF could not "persuasively maintain both that the chant was entirely harmless and that it warranted activation of anti-discrimination measures".

As punishment, Spain must play their next international friendly with 15% of the stadium closed off, with that closure required to be implemented primarily within the stands behind the goals. The RFEF may, subject to the approval by Fifa, fill the seats with community and/or special interest groups (such as families, students, and anti-discrimination organisations).

Fifa has also fined Spain $20,000 (£15,000) in connection with the incident.

Spain's next potential international friendly date is in June, although if they qualify for the finals of the Nations League the punishment will be delayed until one of the empty dates during Euro 2028 qualifying next Autumn.