FIFA upholds punishment for anti-Muslim chants at Spain match

MADRID, OCT 17: The FIFA Appeal Committee has rejected a Spanish appeal against punishment for racist chants during a friendly against Egypt in March, the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) announced on Friday.

During the match against Egypt played at the Cornella, home of Espanyol, on March 31, part of the crowd chanted "whoever doesn't jump is Muslim".

On August 4, three weeks after Spain won the World Cup, FIFA's disciplinary committee imposed a fine of $20,000 (17,800 euros) and closure of at least 15 per cent of the stadium for Spain's next home friendly.

The RFEF reiterated on Friday that this misconduct "was detected by the Federation's own monitoring mechanisms" and that announcements urged the crowd to stop the chanting at half-time, during the second half and on the stadium video screens.�"AFP