FIFA can today confirm that sanctions have been imposed by its Disciplinary Committee on several football associations for incidents involving, among others, unsporting and discriminatory conduct by fans during recent 2018 FIFA World Cup™ qualifying matches.
Albania has been fined CHF 100,000 for a series of incidents during the match Italy vs Albania, including the use of pyrotechnics by the Albania fans which led to the suspension of the match for several minutes. Italy has been fined CHF 15,000 for incidents that occurred during the same match.
Iran has been fined CHF 50,000 for several incidents during the match Iran vs China PR, including the use of pyrotechnics among supporters and an overcrowded stadium. In addition, Bosnia and Herzegovina has been fined CHF 26,500, Poland CHF 17,500 and Montenegro CHF 15,000 for various incidents involving the use of pyrotechnics by fans.
Moreover, Brazil has been fined CHF 35,000, Argentina CHF 20,000 and Mexico CHF 10,000 for various incidents involving discriminatory and unsporting conduct by fans, including homophobic chants.
The FIFA Disciplinary Committee took the decisions after analysing all of the specific circumstances of each case, in particular the match officials’ reports, the position adopted by the association (if applicable) as well as the anti-discrimination match observers’ reports and the relevant evidence available. The committee has absolute discretion regarding the evaluation of proof (cf. art. 97 par. 1 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code). The concerned parties have been notified of the decisions.
Besides the monitoring and sanctions of potential incidents, FIFA has put in place a comprehensive strategy to tackle discrimination, which includes the FIFA Good Practice Guide on Diversity and Anti-Discrimination, training, awareness-raising and the support of member associations in developing robust educational and preventive measures.
Further details on the cases and all the sanctions imposed by the Disciplinary Committee are available in the disciplinary overview document for the 2018 FIFA World Cup™ preliminary competition, published on FIFA.com .