MEXICO CITY (AP) — After a few months in which it was heard only sporadically at local tournaments across Mexico, a homophobic chant has resurfaced strongly in recent weeks in what could be a prelude to what will happen at the 2026 World Cup.
The slur has been an unwelcome feature at matches involving Mexico and its fervent fans for two decades, though it is not limited to El Tri. It has drawn widespread condemnation and sanctions, and punishments by FIFA could very well be levied during the World Cup, which would be an embarrassment to co-host Mexico.
FIFA has partnered with the Fare Network to send observers to all World Cup games to listen for discrimination in chants and banners across all countries and cultures.
Soccer’s governing bodies have struggled for decades to eliminate racial abuse despite heavy fines, stadium closures, points deductions, halted matches and bans for both fans and players who break the rules. European and Latin American nations have been repeatedly fined and Mexico currently has appeals against FIFA punishment over a 2024 match against the U.S. pending before the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The chant, a one-word slur that literally means male prostitute in Spanish, usually occurs when the opposing goalkeeper takes a goal kick. It went viral in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and was heard again in Russia during the 2018 World Cup and four years later in Qatar.
Stopping the chant has proven hard for Mexico
Initially, Mexican soccer federation officials argued that the chant wasn’t aimed at gay people and that the word had different connotations in Mexican culture, but prior to the 2018 World Cup launched social media campaigns that did not succeed.
In Russia, the chant was heard during a match against Germany and Mexico was penalized by FIFA: For the first time in its history, El Tri played World Cup qualifying matches behind closed doors at Azteca stadium in Mexico City.
Despite the punishments, Mexico fans yelled the slur again at Qatar 2022 during matches against Poland and Saudi Arabia.
“Sustained efforts have been made for years to eradicate this type of expression, with awareness campaigns and measures in stadiums, and while there has been progress, we are aware that isolated incidents still persist,” Mexican Federation President Ivar Sisniega told The Associated Press.
The federation and the Liga MX, Mexico’s top league, have simply asked fans before matches not to do it. Sisniega said the federation recently launched an advertising campaign called “We Are Mexico,” which seeks to highlight the best of Mexican fans.
Andoni Bello, an LGBTQ+ activist who played for Mexico in amateur soccer tournaments organized by the International Gay and Lesbian Football Association, said the chant is a form of verbal aggression that can escalate into physical aggression. According to a government survey, in Mexico some 5 million people (5.1% of the population) self-identified as having an LGBTQ+ sexual and gender orientation.
“This permissiveness that nothing happens and that it’s cultural means that hate crimes also remain cultural,” Bello added.
The chant has resurfaced just months before the World Cup
Mexico will play two of its World Cup group-stage matches in Mexico City and another in Guadalajara, where the chant is believed to have started more than 20 years ago.
Although the chant was still occasionally heard in some Liga MX matches, it had rarely appeared in Mexican national team games — it was noted in an October 2023 friendly against the U.S. — but was heard loudly at the Azteca stadium last month during a friendly against Portgual and again earlier this month at the same venue in a CONCACAF Champions Cup match between Club America and Nashville SC. Referees for both matches suspended them twice each.
It also was heard during intercontinental playoffs in Guadalajara and Monterrey, games in which no Mexican team was involved: Iraq vs. Bolivia, when it was aimed at South American goalkeeper Guillermo Viscarra, and Congo vs. Jamaica, where several videos showed Mexican fans teaching African fans how to do it.
“We understand that it often arises as a manifestation of frustration or annoyance from the fan, but that doesn’t make it acceptable, and we must continue working to change that behavior,” Sisniega said.
In the CONCACAF games, the chant appeared when it became clear that Cruz Azul and América would be eliminated in their quarterfinal series. The correlation between the chant and the performance of Mexican teams suggests it could appear at the World Cup, where expectations are high for the co-host nation.
“The chant appears when there is a problem; people still don’t understand that it can lead to sanctions, but I think it will be different at the World Cup. The tickets were more expensive this time, and I think people will go to have fun more than to question a result,” said Gabriel Galván, a fan who has attended every match of the Mexican national team since 2009.
At the 2022 Qatar World Cup, Mexico was eliminated in the first round for the first time since 1978. Mexico won the regional titles of the CONCACAF Nations League and the Gold Cup in 2025 but closed the year on a six-match winless streak. So far in 2026, the team is undefeated in five matches and recently had draws against Portugal and Belgium.
“We remain focused on the team performing well on the field, convinced that a positive connection with the fans also contributes to creating the atmosphere we all want in our stadiums,” Sisniega said.
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AP Sports Writer Graham Dunbar in Geneva contributed.
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