June 23, 2014 6:51 p.m. ET
Mexico's fans celebrate holding a mask of Mexico's head coach Miguel Herrera after the match between Croatia and Mexico on Monday. Associated Press
Mexico's soccer federation no longer faces potential fines over its fans' use of the Spanish insult "puto," a slur for a "gay man," during goal kicks, FIFA said on Monday.
So what did Mexican fans do at the country's very next game, just hours after FIFA's edict? Gleefully chant "puto" during the introduction of every Croatian player ahead of both countries' critical matchup with Brazil.
During the game, they also expanded use of the term from goal kicks to corner kicks, and added fouls, too.
They also reached deeper into their crude repertoire of soccer chants and regaled the Croatian players with "culero," which is loosely translated as someone's backside.
For years, Mexican soccer fans have tried to distract opposing goalies by shouting "puto" in unison during goal kicks. After Mexico's initial group match against Cameroon this month, FIFA said it was investigating the use of the term and could impose disciplinary action against Mexico's soccer federation for violating antidiscrimination rules.
But, in this case, FIFA ruled the Mexican federation was not liable for its spectators' conduct, Claudio Sulser, chairman of FIFA's Disciplinary Committee, said in a statement Monday.
A FIFA spokesperson said that "all charges against the Mexican FA [soccer federation] have been dismissed" because the conditions for spectator conduct liability hadn't been fulfilled.
FIFA's disciplinary panel decided the chant "is not considered insulting in this specific context," the Associated Press reported. The chant is widely used in Mexican league games.
The potential fine stirred much debate within Mexico, with many trying to dismiss the word as harmless. Joaquin López-Dóriga, a prominent news anchor at Mexican broadcasting giant Televisa, said in a column Friday that "puto…has the meaning that one wishes to give it."
Mexican television critic and journalist Álvaro Cueva blasted such arguments in a Sunday column in newspaper Milenio, saying that rather than recognizing and correcting the error, many Mexicans were instead "inventing theories" to justify the chant.
Mexican actor Diego Luna told Spain's EFE news agency that he disliked the term. The actor said that "soccer is a reflection of what we are in many ways," adding that "we live in a classist, racist, homophobic society into which we are very assimilated, that's all. I'm not really proud about that."
The debate has lit up social media, with Twitter users creating a number of popular hashtags. One, #NuevoGritoParaMexico, urged fans to come up with a new slogan; another, #FifaPutos, used the word to insult soccer's governing body.
Mexico City legalized same-sex marriage in 2009. However, homosexuals still face discrimination and violence in much of the country. For many, use of the word "puto" on the world stage reflects badly on Mexico as a nation of homophobes and potty-mouths.
"The cry of 'puto' is an expression of disdain and rejection," Mexico's antidiscrimination agency, Conapred, said last week in response to the issue. "The way in which this collective yell is given in stadiums isn't innocent; it reflects the homophobia, machismo and misogyny that our society still suffers."
SUI
