The chants of the fans of the Ecuadorian national team in the opening match of the World Cup have resulted in disciplinary actions.
The chants have been widely categorized as discriminatory. FIFA officials announced the charge came “due to chanting” at the match against host country Qatar on Sunday.
FIFA cited the discrimination section of its disciplinary code.
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Ecuador’s fans celebrate after a World Cup group A soccer match between Qatar and Ecuador at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, Qatar, Sunday, November 20, 2022.
(AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
The chants were reportedly directed at Chile. The South American country filed a legal case ahead of the start of the World Cup in an attempt to take Ecuador’s place.
Chile claimed that Ecuador was using an ineligible player.
Chile claimed to have documents proving that the player in question, Ecuadorian Byron Castillo, who is Chilean, was never eligible to play for Ecuador. Chile eventually lost its appeal.
Ecuador’s Byron Castillo during a match between Japan and Ecuador at Merkur Spiel-Arena on September 27, 2022. In Duesseldorf, Germany.
(James Williamson/AMA/Getty Images)
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It is unclear how long FIFA will need to handle the charges against the Ecuadorian soccer federation, which is responsible for the behavior of fans at matches.
Karim Boudiaf of the Qatar national soccer team, center right, heads the ball during the opening match of the FIFA World Cup between hosts Qatar and Ecuador at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, Qatar, Sunday, November 20. of 2022.
(Christopher Pike/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Ecuador fans also drew attention for their Spanish-language chants of “We want beer” during the team’s 2-0 win at Al Bayt Stadium.
Organizers banned the sale of alcoholic beer in all eight tournament stadiums days before the event was scheduled to start.
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“Following discussions between the authorities of the host country and FIFA, the decision was made to concentrate the sale of alcoholic beverages at the FIFA Fan Festival, other fan destinations and authorized venues, removing beer outlets from… . the perimeters of the stadiums,” FIFA said in a statement. statement.
Associated Press contributed to this report.