Sports
FIFA seeks to combat homophobia in soccer
Chile, Mexico among countries fined for anti-gay fans
‘Sport should give us pride and never should come with discrimination,’ said gay Brazilian Congressman Jean Wyllys.
(Photo by Cristina Gallo/Agência Senado; courtesy Wikimedia Commons)
Homophobia remains a serious problem in global soccer in spite of FIFA’s efforts to fight it.
Article 67 of FIFA’s Disciplinary Code states “the home association or home club is liable for improper conduct among spectators, regardless of the question of culpable conduct or culpable oversight, and, depending on the situation, may be fined.” The provision also says “the visiting association or visiting club is liable for improper conduct among its own group of spectators, regardless of the question of culpable conduct or culpable oversight, and, depending on the situation, maybe fined.”
“Improper conduct includes violence towards persons or objects, letting off incendiary devices, throwing missiles, displaying insulting or political slogans in any form, uttering insulting words or sounds, or invading the pitch,” reads Article 67.
Article 67 does not specifically include sexual orientation, but FIFA has used it to sanction countries over their fans’ anti-gay conduct.
FIFA since 2015 has fined Chile 180,000 Swiss francs ($187,149) for “homophobic chants by supporters” and “improper conduct among spectators” that included “homophobic chants” and “homophobic and insulting chants.” Three of the nine incidents that prompted FIFA to fine the South American country also resulted in banning matches at the National Stadium in Santiago.
FIFA imposed a one-game ban on official matches at the Metropolitan Olympic Stadium in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, and fined the country 40,000 Swiss francs ($41,589) after fans shouted “homophobic chants” and threw water bottles during a Nov. 11, 2016, game against Panama.
FIFA since November 2015 has fined Mexico 130,000 Swiss francs ($135,163) for “homophobic chants” among its supporters during matches against the U.S., El Salvador, Canada, Honduras, Panama and Costa Rica.
Mexican soccer fans routinely taunt an opposing team’s goalkeeper by chanting “puto,” which roughly translates as “faggot” in English.
FIFA on June 20 issued a warning to Mexico after fans used the homophobic chant during a pre-2018 World Cup match that took place in Russia. The Mexican Football Association subsequently warned its fans to stop using the chant.
“As you know, FIFA is very serious about the chanting that we do when the goalkeeper takes a kick, and the possible sanctions are serious,” it said in a statement, according to NBC News. “Our efforts on the pitch will come to nothing if, because of this (behavior), we lose the match, the game is suspended or you are expelled from the stadium.”
“We lose, you lose, everyone loses,” added the Mexican Football Association.
FIFA since 2015 has also fined Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Greece, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay for “homophobic chants by supporters” during matches.
FIFA rules specifically ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender, but the organization awarded the 2018 World Cup to Russia in spite of the country’s LGBT rights record. A FIFA spokesperson told the Washington Blade the organization has a gay-inclusive “comprehensive strategy to combat discrimination” that includes a guide on how to promote diversity and fight discrimination.
“FIFA is committed to fighting all forms of discrimination in football, including homophobia,” said the spokesperson. “The sanctions related to homophobic chants applied around the FIFA World Cup qualifiers are proof of how seriously FIFA takes this issue.”
LGBT advocacy groups in Latin America have launched campaigns that are designed to combat homophobia in soccer.
The LGBT Federation of Argentina launched a campaign ahead of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil that featured retired soccer player Sergio Govcochea and Argentine sports reporter Juan Manuel Varela. The campaign, which incorporates FIFA’s Fair Play initiative, also featured clips of fans using homophobic and racist chants to taunt players from opposing teams during games.
“We believe in the value of Fair Play that FIFA launched years ago,” then-LGBT Federation of Argentina President Esteban Paulón in a statement that launched the campaign. “It has to leave the fields and reach the fans and also strongly fight against discrimination — not only against lesbians, gays, bisexuals and trans people — in the stands.”
GLAAD, Google and YouTube also launched campaigns during the 2014 World Cup that promoted LGBT acceptance in soccer and other sports.
“Sport should give us pride and never should come with discrimination or exclusion; regardless of ethnicity, social status, gender, sexual orientation or any other type (of factor,)” said gay Brazilian Congressman Jean de Wyllys in Google’s “Play with Pride” campaign.
Chile’s National Association of Professional Soccer last October signed an agreement with the Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation, an LGBT advocacy group, in which it pledged to fight homophobia and other forms of discrimination in professional soccer.
The two groups earlier this year launched a campaign to combat homophobic, racist and xenophobic chants in the country’s soccer stadiums. The Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation in a March 29 press release applauded fans for their “good and respectful behavior” during a game between Chile and Venezuela that took place the day before at Monumental Stadium in the Santiago suburb of Macul.
“We did not hear, nor were we aware of any xenophobic, homophobic or racist chants or shouts, even during the second half when the Chilean team was in a tense moment,” said the Movement for the Homosexual Integration and Liberation. “What happened yesterday was, without doubt, an advance for respect and pacifism that we hope will continue.”
Sports
New IOC policy bans trans women from Olympics
New regulation to be in effect at 2028 summer games in Los Angeles
The International Olympic Committee on Thursday announced it will not allow transgender women from competing in female events at the Olympics.
“For all disciplines on the Sports Program of an IOC event, including individual and team sports, eligibility for any Female Category is limited to biological females,” reads the new policy.
The policy states “eligibility for the Female Category is to be determined in the first instance by SRY Gene screening to detect the absence or presence of the SRY Gene.”
“On the basis of the scientific evidence, the IOC considers that the SRY (sex-determining Region Y) Gene is fixed throughout life and represents highly accurate evidence that an athlete has experienced or will experience male sex development,” it reads. “Furthermore, the IOC considers that SRY Gene screening via saliva, cheek swab or blood sample is unintrusive compared to other possible methods. Athletes who screen negative for the SRY gene permanently satisfy this policy’s eligibility criteria for competition in the Female Category.”
The policy states the test “will be a once-in-a-lifetime test” unless “there is reason to believe a negative reading is in error.”
The new regulation will be in place for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
“I understand that this a very sensitive topic,” said IOC President Kirsty Coventry on Thursday in a video. “As a former athlete, I passionately believe in the rights of all Olympians to take part in fair competition.”
“The policy that we have announced is based on science and it has been led by medical experts with the best interests of athletes at its heart. The scientific evidence is very clear: male chromosomes give performance advances in sport that rely on strength, power, or endurance,” she added. “At the Olympic Games, even the smallest margins can be the difference between victory and defeat. So, it is absolutely clear that it would not be fair for biological males to compete in the female category. In addition, in some sports it would simply not be safe.”
(Video courtesy of the IOC)
Laurel Hubbard, a weightlifter from New Zealand, in 2021 became the first trans woman to compete at the Olympics.
Imane Khelif, an Algerian boxer, won a gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Khelif later sued JK Rowling and Elon Musk for cyberstalking after they questioned her gender identity.
Ellis Lundholm, a mogul skier from Sweden, this year became the first openly trans athlete to compete in any Winter Olympics when he participated in Milan Cortina Winter Olympics in Italy.
President Donald Trump in February 2025 issued an executive order that bans trans women and girls from female sports teams in the U.S.
The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee last July banned trans women from competing in female sporting events. Republican lawmakers have demanded the IOC ban trans athletes from women’s athletic competitions.
“I’m grateful the Olympics finally embraced the common sense policy that women’s sports are for women, not for men,” said U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) on X.
An IOC spokesperson on Thursday referred the Washington Blade to the press release that announced the new policy.
More than a dozen LGBTQ athletes won medals at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics that ended on Sunday.
Cayla Barnes, Hilary Knight, and Alex Carpenter are LGBTQ members of the U.S. women’s hockey team that won a gold medal after they defeated Canada in overtime. Knight the day before the Feb. 19 match proposed to her girlfriend, Brittany Bowe, an Olympic speed skater.
French ice dancer Guillaume Cizeron, who is gay, and his partner Laurence Fournier Beaudry won gold. American alpine skier Breezy Johnson, who is bisexual, won gold in the women’s downhill. Amber Glenn, who identifies as bisexual and pansexual, was part of the American figure skating team that won gold in the team event.
Swiss freestyle skier Mathilde Gremaud, who is in a relationship with Vali Höll, an Austrian mountain biker, won gold in women’s freeski slopestyle.
Bruce Mouat, who is the captain of the British curling team that won a silver medal, is gay. Six members of the Canadian women’s hockey team — Emily Clark, Erin Ambrose, Emerance Maschmeyer, Brianne Jenner, Laura Stacey, and Marie-Philip Poulin — that won silver are LGBTQ.
Swedish freestyle skier Sandra Naeslund, who is a lesbian, won a bronze medal in ski cross.
Belgian speed skater Tineke den Dulk, who is bisexual, was part of her country’s mixed 2000-meter relay that won bronze. Canadian ice dancer Paul Poirier, who is gay, and his partner, Piper Gilles, won bronze.
Laura Zimmermann, who is queer, is a member of the Swiss women’s hockey team that won bronze when they defeated Sweden.
Outsports.com notes all of the LGBTQ Olympians who competed at the games and who medaled.
Sports
US wins Olympic gold medal in women’s hockey
Team captain Hilary Knight proposed to girlfriend on Wednesday
The U.S. women’s hockey team on Thursday won a gold medal at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.
Team USA defeated Canada 2-1 in overtime. The game took place a day after Team USA captain Hilary Knight proposed to her girlfriend, Brittany Bowe, an Olympic speed skater.
Cayla Barnes and Alex Carpenter — Knight’s teammates — are also LGBTQ. They are among the more than 40 openly LGBTQ athletes who are competing in the games.
The Olympics will end on Sunday.
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