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Fans in Mexico City seemed to enjoy the Raiders vs. Texans game on Monday Night Football, but it seems we couldn’t get through the game without controversy. Right near the start of the game, a very audible “puto” chant filled the stadium and made it on the broadcast during a kickoff. For The Win and other outlets note that the chant is a “consistent source of controversy” for Mexico’s national soccer team and is considered a homophobic slur. As reported by FTW, ESPN made no efforts to adjust the audio for the broadcast and didn’t seem to think it would be an issue:
According to an ESPN spokesperson, ESPN had not made any specific audio adjustments that would ensure the chant couldn’t be heard on TV. But it is something the network will continue to discuss as a production team going forward.
This was not the case, as the chant showed up repeatedly throughout the duration of the game. The problem is that the chant has been an issue in soccer for a good stretch of time at this point and has resulted in fines by FIFA against the Mexican Football Federation according to ESPN:
The Mexican football federation (FMF) is set to appeal the fine and warning dished out by FIFA for anti-gay chants from fans during El Tri’s World Cup qualifying game in Estadio Azteca on Sept. 6 against Honduras.
The 30,000 Swiss francs ($30,600) fine, announced on Tuesday, was the fifth time within 11 months that FIFA has acted on the chant in games involving Mexico. This time, the FMF has decided to respond, as it did in January of 2016.
“We will fight the sanction because we don’t agree with the connotation that FIFA has given the chant,” said general secretary Guillermo Cantu in an FMF news release.
While FIFA and others contend the chant is offensive, Mexican officials are quick to say that the usage during matches isn’t meant to be offensive in nature and they are doing their part in combating discrimination in the country:
“We will seek to explain [to FIFA] that the chant in Mexico isn’t done with the intention that FIFA has interpreted, and in the Brazil World Cup the disciplinary committee determined that in this context the chant wasn’t discriminatory.”
We’ll have to see if anything comes from this, like whether it impacts the Worldwide Leader’s decision to host football games in Mexico going forward. Odds are, all this is going to turn into is another chapter in the ongoing saga for sports fans in Mexico.
(Via For The Win / ESPN)
