chants

Spain sanctioned by FIFA after incidents at Espanyol’s stadium in Barcelona, which staged the friendly with Egypt.

Spain have ‌‌‌‌been fined $20,000 and ordered to partially close their stadium ⁠⁠⁠⁠for their ⁠⁠⁠⁠next friendly after supporters twice chanted Islamophobic slogans during the game against Egypt in March, FIFA said ⁠⁠⁠⁠in a statement.

The sanctions relate to incidents at the RCDE Stadium near Barcelona, home of LaLiga club Espanyol, ⁠⁠⁠⁠where some Spain fans chanted, “Who doesn’t jump is a Muslim” during a World Cup warm-up match which ended in a 0-0 draw.

After the second occurrence of the chant, the stadium announcer ‌‌‌‌issued a warning and the scoreboard displayed a message against discriminatory behaviour.

Spain winger Lamine Yamal, who is Muslim, condemned the chants at the time, describing them as disrespectful and intolerable and calling those responsible “ignorant and racist”.

Spanish police launched an investigation the following day, while world governing ⁠⁠⁠⁠body FIFA later started disciplinary proceedings against ⁠⁠⁠⁠the Spanish football federation (RFEF).

It argued that the word ‘Muslim’ was “neither insulting nor pejorative”, adding that the fans’ conduct should be assessed under FIFA’s Article 17, ⁠⁠⁠⁠which covers political, ideological, religious or offensive messages, rather than Article 15, which deals ⁠⁠⁠⁠with discrimination and racist abuse.

However, FIFA’s disciplinary ⁠⁠⁠⁠committee rejected that argument, saying Article 15 does not require the explicit use of a slur and that a term can be discriminatory when ‌‌‌‌used in context as “an insult, taunt, or marker of inferiority”.

FIFA fined the RFEF and ordered the closure of at least ‌‌‌‌15% ‌‌‌‌of available seats for Spain’s next friendly.

Al Jazeera has contacted the RFEF for comment.

Croatia’s Hajduk Split hosted Ajax on Thursday, but chants for pre-World War II regime precede UEFA Europa League game.

Croatian leaders have slammed pro-Nazi and anti-Semitic chants by Hajduk Split football fans before their UEFA Conference League match against Ajax, while Israel’s embassy voiced shock.

Groups of Hajduk Split fans, known as the Torcida, marched through the coastal town of Split before Thursday’s match chanting: “Crush the Jews”, “Rise up Adolf (Hitler)” and “Let’s go Ustasha”, referring to the country’s World War II pro-Nazi regime, local media reported.

Dozens of fans were detained before Thursday’s match for violence. During the match, Torcida fans set off flares and other pyrotechnics in the stands, forcing more than a 10-minute stoppage.

An investigation was opened into the pro-Nazi chants and suspects are being detained, police said.

President Zoran Milanovic in a Friday statement condemned the incident as “unacceptable and shameful”.

He urged swift action against the perpetrators to “show that there is no place in Croatia for the glorification of Nazism and Ustasha ideology”.

Israel’s embassy in Zagreb said on X it was “deeply shocked by the serious antisemitic incident that took place in Split and condemns it in the strongest possible terms”.

Conservative Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic also condemned “messages of anti-Semitism … completely at odds with the values we want to uphold in Croatian society”.

Hajduk Split, who won the game 2-1, in a statement apologised to UEFA and Ajax who “witnessed scenes which we do not want Europe to remember”, while the Croatian football federation also condemned the incident.

Croatia’s ultra-nationalist hardcore supporters have tainted the country’s image for years, notably by chanting pro-fascist slogans and displaying Ustasha symbols.

The Ustasha regime killed and persecuted hundreds of thousands of ethnic Serbs, Jews, Roma and antifascist Croatians.

Croatia were docked a point by UEFA after their fans painted a swastika on the pitch in Split in 2015, before a Euro 2016 qualifier with Italy.

The perpetrators were never found.

In recent years, the country has seen a growing tolerance for its pro-Nazi past, and critics accuse authorities of failing to sanction the use of Ustasha emblems.