(Reuters) – Mexican fans will be barred from the stadium for their country’s first two home 2022 World Cup qualifiers after making homophobic chants during two Olympic qualifying games in March, FIFA said in a statement on Friday.
FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee also fined Mexico’s Football Federation (FMF) 60,000 Swiss francs ($65,118.30) for chants from fans during games against the Dominican Republic on March 18 and the United States on March 24.
The committee has also launched a separate investigation against the FMF in relation to homophobic chants by Mexican fans during a friendly against Iceland in Arlington, Texas, on May 29.
Mexico’s games against Jamaica on Sept. 2 and Canada on Oct. 7 in the final round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying will be played in empty stadiums as a result of the sanctions.
($1 = 0.9214 Swiss francs)
(Reporting by Hritika Sharma in Hyderabad, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
