CAS 2023/A/9972 FEDERACIÓN MEXICANA DE FÚTBOL v. FIFA. DISCRIMINATORY BEHAVIOUR
Keywords:
CAS, disciplinary proceedings, appeal, discrimination, supporter misconduct, strict liability, proportionality, mitigating circumstancesAbstract
The following is an analysis of the legal proceedings involving the Federación Mexicana de Fútbol (FMF) and FIFA, concerning the discriminatory behaviour of FMF’s supporters at two matches played in the context of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. The FIFA Disciplinary Committee found the FMF in breach of the anti-discrimination rule of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (FDC). The matter ultimately reached the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), where the FMF’s appeal centred on the limits of the strict liability principle and on the proportionality of the sanction. The CAS confirmed the applicability of strict liability to member associations for the discriminatory conduct of their supporters. However, it slightly reduced the sanction imposed by FIFA, citing the “passive attitude” of FIFA’s officials in responding to the incidents as a mitigating factor. The award reaffirmed that discriminatory chants have no place in football and suggested that, in future, FIFA may need to impose harsher sanctions on associations to eradicate this misbehaviour.
